


A (girl) friend by your side

by Cruz851



Category: Warrior Nun (TV)
Genre: F/F, Feelings, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:00:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 25,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26281564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cruz851/pseuds/Cruz851
Summary: Set after the battle at the Vatican.Beatrice is used to having control, but what happens when Ava gets seriously injured and Bea is no longer the one who can handle the situation.
Relationships: Sister Beatrice/Ava Silva
Comments: 90
Kudos: 686





	1. The selfless, and the selfish

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing a story like this, so I hope you enjoy. I adore Avatrice and I can't wait to see what awaits them in season two.

“She should be awake by now!” Beatrice screams, frantically grabbing for more towels to stop the warrior nun from bleeding out. The frantic movement of the van pulling her side to side, threatening to pull her hands away from the wound she was desperately trying to keep pressure on.

“I’m trying to find a place to stop Bea, just hold on!” Mary shouted, glancing in the rearview mirror. All she could see was Ava’s blood covering Beatrice's hands, pooling on the seat and slowly dripping onto the floorboard beneath her. She pressed even harder on the gas pedal, praying that they would find a church or a hospital in the next few minutes. 

Camila sat in the passenger seat idly, hands gripping the hilt of the cruciform sword, tears pooling in her eyes as the battle at the Vatican played over and over in her head.

_ Adriel grabbed Ava by the throat, lifting her body into the air. The warrior nun, now defenseless without her sword and weak without the halos charge, lay limp in his calloused hands. Her blood poured freely from the large stab wound in her side that Adriel had managed to pull off in the last seconds of their battle. With what little fight she had left, Ava reached up, clawing at the hand around her throat in an effort to be released from the chokehold. _

_ “You really thought you could win,” Adriel sneered, his face drawing closer to Ava’s, tightening the already impossibly taut hold he had on the warrior nuns neck. Ava opened her mouth to reply, eyes slowly rolling to the back of her head from lack of oxygen. _

_ “We...already...did,” She choked out, right before Camila stabbed Adriel through the chest with the cruciform sword that had been abandoned during their battle. Stunned, Adriel released his grip on Ava, allowing her to fall to the ground, gasping for air.  _

_ An ungodly growl poured out of the man's mouth as he fell to his knees, feeling the divinium sword as it pierced through his body. Terrified, Camila released her grip on the sword, watching as it stayed lodged in Adriels torso. The other sister warriors were too busy fighting off the possessed tourists to initially notice Camila’s act of heroism, but the growl that travelled through the air was enough to capture their attention.  _

_ Beatrice, Mary, and Lilith watched in shock as Adriel reached behind himself and slowly pulled the sword out of his back, his body turning towards Camila, face turned up with a bloody smile. _

_ “You stupid girl…” He husked out, swinging the sword with all his might to quickly put an end to the nuns life.  _

_ “NO!” Ava yelled as she used whatever strength she had left to throw herself in front of Camila, ready to take the blow. But right as the sword connected with Ava’s side, a blinding light emitted from the halo bearers back, sending scalding shockwaves through the air.  _

_ The sisters all turned away and ducked down, hoping to avoid the blast, but the possessed still stood there taking the explosion head on. Although they couldn’t see it, all the wraith demons that had occupied the tourists' bodies were extracted from their hosts, vanishing with loud and gnarled screams. One by one the once possessed travelers all fell to the ground, confused and weakened by the wraith's sudden exit.  _

_ It was Beatrice who looked up first. “She did it,” the sister warrior exclaimed in amazement as she watched the bodies fall, unbeknownced to the tragic scene that lay 30 feet behind her. A piercing scream filled the air. _

_ “AVA!” Camila screamed, scrambling to reach the warrior nun who lay with the cruciform sword buried in her side. Adriel was no longer there, but the sword had stayed behind, finding a new home for itself inside Ava's skin. Beatrice turned around, eyeing the situation in horror before running to Ava’s side. _

_ “Mary, get the van fast!” She cried as she carefully took note of the injuries Ava had sustained during their fight. Mary took off to get their vehicle, Lilith following closely behind. _

_ “No, no, no!” Beatrice pleaded while cradling Ava’s head to her chest. She looked down at her warrior nun whose eyes were closed, face beginning to pale significantly.  _

_ “Sister, what do we do,” Camila asked, tears flowing freely down her face as she grasped Ava’s wrist hoping to find a pulse. Beatrice froze, eyeing the sword that was stuck in Ava’s side. _

_ “We need to take it out,” She whispered. Camila looked at her like she had grown another head. _

_ “Take it out? Bea, she’ll bleed out!” she exclaimed frantically. _

_ “It’s the only way we can get her out of here Camila!” Beatrice said sternly before feeling around the wound. She could see how much damage the sword had caused, completely cutting through the skin and muscle tissue of the warrior nuns side. _

_ “When I take it out, we will lift her and run to the van. Don’t stop, don’t hesitate, just run,” Beatrice stated, Camila nodding quickly in understanding.  _

_ Swiftly, Beatrice grasped the sword and dislodged it from Ava’s torso, blood immediately beginning to flow out of the wound. Camila grabbed the sword, securing it to her back quickly before helping Beatrice lift Ava. _

_ “Bea, there’s too much blood. She won't make it!” She cried, eyeing the quickly growing puddle of crimson that coated the floor. _

_ “I don’t care, just run!” Beatrice exclaimed before both girls took off, carrying their friends' body to the van that awaited them just outside the Vatican doors.  _

* * *

Camila shivered at the memory, running her hands up and down the sword that lay in her lap. Beatrice’s frantic cries could still be heard from the back. 

“Mary, how much longer!” She questioned as she reached for another towel, the one she was holding already soaked in Ava’s blood. She was trying to remain calm, but every part of her was screaming in agony at the thought of losing the girl. 

“Fuck this, I’m pulling over!” Mary exclaimed before veering off to the side of the road. Quickly, her and Camila made their way to the back of the van where Beatrice was still trying to control Ava’s bleeding. 

Suddenly an orange rift appeared beside the car, glowing and hot. Lilith stepped out, eyes frantically searching for her friends who were tending to Ava as best as they could.

“About fucking time. Where were you!” Mary yelled, holding yet another bloody towel to Ava’s wound. She had remembered Lilith following her out of the building, but when she looked back the girl had disappeared into thin air. 

“I had spotted Vincent running away from the building so I tried to follow him, but I lost him in the sea of screaming tourists that were trying to make their way out of there,” She explained, eyes scanning Ava’s body. She quickly stepped forward, making a grab at the girl before being pushed back roughly by Beatrice.

“What on _ Earth _ do you think you’re doing,” She asked, pulling Ava’s body close to her in a protective manner. Mary and Camila stepped back, eyeing the two girls carefully.

“Beatrice, the nearest hospital is another 50 kilometers away and we both know Ava won’t last that long. If you trust me, I can try and teleport her to Arqtech before it’s too late,” She said as she carefully moved forward towards the warrior nun. 

Beatrice eyed her apprehensively before letting her hand reach up to feel Ava’s pulse. A single tear fell down her face as the realization set in that Ava’s pulse was almost nonexistent, the tiniest of flutters pulsating against her fingers. With that she slowly released her grip from Ava, letting the taller sister warrior come and scoop the girl up. Before she could utter another word, the two girls had vanished in a flash of orange light.

* * *

The three girls stayed quiet as they drove, the only noise coming from the engine of the van as they made their way back towards Andalusia. They had let Lilith take Ava almost 4 hours ago now, and they had no way to contact her to make sure they made it to Arqtech safe. Or even made it at all. 

“Alright guys, I think we need to stop somewhere,” Mary droned, already exhausted and eyes straining as the sky began to go dark. She knew there was a small town about 10 minutes away, perfect for them to lay low for the night and get some rest in. 

“No,” Beatrice stated quickly. “We can stop somewhere for more petrol, but we still have another 17 hours before we make it to Arqtech,” she emphasized, eyes dark and dull.

“Bea, I know you’re in a hurry to make it back to Ava but we all need to rest and get cleaned up, I mean for god’s sake girl you’re covered in blood,” Mary pointed out as she glanced at the girl through the rearview mirror.

Beatrice looked down at her hands, finally allowing herself to think back to the events that had happened earlier. She looked all around her, acknowledging that Ava’s blood was in fact  _ everywhere _ . It was on her hands, soaked into the cloth of her habit, and coated a good portion of the van's leather interior.

She felt the sudden urge to cleanse herself. To shed the habit and make a break towards the nearest shower. She muttered out a quick “okay” before going back to her panic about the less than acceptable state she was in, twisting and turning trying to rid the feeling of Ava’s blood sticking to her skin. 

Content with the girls approval, Mary turned down the next winding road that took them into a small bustling village. She parked outside their church, turning to the other two girls. “Since I’m the least covered in blood, I’ll go in first. Hopefully they have some clothes and a shower,” She announced before taking off into the decently sized house of worship.

Inside the van, the air hung thick. Thick with the knowledge that their friend was possibly dead. Thick with the raw emotion that threatened to spill out of either girl at any moment. 

“Do you think she made it,” Camila whispered, looking down at her bloodstained hands which held a rosary. 

Beatrice grew angry at the words, “Of course she made it Camila, and if you were ever gonna have faith in something then that time needs to be  _ right now _ ,” She spit, immediately regretting the harsh tone she used with the younger girl.

Camila visually shrunk down in the front seat. “Yes sister, my apologies sister,” she whispered before turning back to the silent prayer she had been repeating to herself for the past hour. 

Neither girl spoke after that, simply waiting until Mary came out to tell them where they would be sleeping. Under the cover of darkness the three girls made their way to the back of the church and into the small dormitory for the night. 

“There’s clothes on the beds for us and the showers are down the hall,” Mary stated before flopping down onto the very uncomfortable mattress, dust flying up into the air as she did so. 

Beatrice carefully made her way over to her bed, cautious not to stain the sheets with the blood that still covered her hands. She swiftly gathered the shirt and lounge pants that lay there for her. “I’m going to go shower and I’d appreciate a few minutes alone before either of you decide to rinse off as well,” she forewarned, stone faced and emotionless, before taking off down the dimly lit hallway. 

Mary and Camila turned towards each other, silently asking the other if they needed to be worried for their once calm and collected leaders' safety. Without a second thought they both went back to their business, Mary laying down, and Camila taking off the armor that was strapped across her chest.

In the showers however, a whole new fight was going down. One between Beatrice and her slowly crumbling wall that she spent the last six years building around her heart. 

She was punching the stone shower wall, over and over again with such ferocity that she feared she might break a knuckle if she continued. “ _ No, don't stop. You deserve this pain,”  _ she told herself before striking the stone once more. 

_ You let her down _

_ *Strike _ *

_ You failed your warrior nun _

_ *Strike* _

_ You. Failed. Ava. _

With one final blow she stepped back and fell to the ground, exhausted both physically and emotionally. Her hands ached and bled as she examined the damage she had caused.

_ Good. you deserved this. _

With that she stood up, storing her emotions deep down within herself like she had been trained to do, and made her way into the shower, turning it on and cranking it as hot as it could go.

She felt the boiling water making contact with her skin, scorching every wound that graced her body. Every cut. Every scrape. Every reminder that no matter how hard she tried, she still failed to do the one thing she was  _ ordered  _ to do. 

But no matter how hot that water got, and no matter how much pain she felt as it stung every nerve and fiber within her body, it still wouldn’t match the searing pain that she felt echoing inside her heart. 


	2. Broken walls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beatrice struggles with her self control. Reminiscing on how she got to such a dark point in the first place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought I'd give y'all another chapter since I got so much positive feedback on the first one. Thanks for that!

Beatrice had always been the voice of reason in their makeshift friend group. She had to be, she was born to be a leader in that way. I guess if her parents had actually gifted her anything before shipping her off to catholic school, it would be her trained ability to always stay in control. So far it never failed, when missions went awry Shannon always turned to her to get them out. When there was a problem that needed solving quickly, she took it upon herself to march down to the archives and find the answers her team was looking for. And when it came down to who would die in a battle, Beatrice made the silent vow that she would always put herself before the others, ready to take death head on if it meant her sisters stayed safe. 

Shannon's death, however, was out of her control.

_And she hated it._

Beatrice had taken their missions very seriously, always planning and replanning their routes and plans of action in case something went wrong. Shannon would always laugh at her, telling Bea, “you should have been the Warrior Nun instead since you’re so good at, well, everything.” Beatrice would shake her head at this.

“No, it was given to you for good reason. I’m simply a good worker, and my vows to always help you just push me to try even harder,” Beatrice would say, eyes still scanning whatever layout she had in front of her.

She would never admit it, but the thought of becoming the Halo Bearer _terrified_ Beatrice. She knew there was a chance she would be next in line to receive it if something had happened to Lilith, which is why she fought so hard to make sure Shannon was always safe. To prevent the transfer of the halo would essentially mean buying herself time. More time to train. More time to prepare. More time to gain the self control she always tried to lead with. 

But when Ava showed up, Halo blazing behind her after having sent the Tarask back to hell in the Arqtech lab, Beatrice felt that control start to slip. She regained that control, however, when she pressed the tranquilizer to Ava’s neck.

“I thought she’d be a handful,” She recited, feeling more at ease knowing the reckless halo bearer was back in their care. _Back in her care._

Maybe that’s why it hurt Beatrice so much when she discovered that Ava had once again disappeared. Or maybe it was because she had hoped she had gained Ava’s trust after their late night talk in the dormitory. She knew Ava had deemed her at least a little bit trustworthy since she had practically broken down in her arms after the wrath of Mother Superion took place, but Beatrice couldn’t help but feel like she could have done _more_. Her self control may have stopped her from doing so, but her heart had told her to do otherwise. 

Overall, Ava leaving meant Beatrice had failed. Failed to keep up with the goals she always had set for herself inside her head. It infuriated her like no other, but she managed to keep a calm and resolute exterior, if not for her own sake then for the sake of her sisters who she knew looked up to her in their times of need.

Beatrice did almost lose control, however, when she spotted the Halo bearer there with Mary in the small town they had assisted last year. She could feel it, the anger, bubbling up inside her like a volcano threatening to erupt. She calmed down just in time for Mary to enter the car.

“Is she coming?” Beatrice asked. She could feel the dam that held her emotions back inside her threatening to break. 

“No, but she will,” Mary replied.

Beatrice started a war with herself in her mind right then. “ _You can go get her. You can drag her back to Cat’s Cradle. You can protect her there.”_ She thought.

She frantically pushed the thoughts away, knowing if she dwelled on them for much longer then the dam would surely break. Instead, she put the car into first gear and made her way back home, silently wondering if she had made the right decision after all. 

* * *

Beatrice hated to admit it, but as time went on it appeared Ava had a better control on her than she had on herself. She didn’t know what it was about the Halo Bearer, but being around her made her head spin. Maybe it was the lack of etiquette on Ava’s part, or maybe it was her childlike wonder that never ceased to amaze Beatrice, but she knew that whatever it was, it was dangerous. 

Ava had been the reason she came back to Cat’s Cradle after being reassigned to the convent in Malaysia. Ava had been the reason she wasn’t dead right now, laying in a pool of her own blood at the hands of sister Crimson wielding Mary’s shotgun. And most recently, Ava was the reason the dam broke.

She didn’t know how it happened. One second she was reciting sister Melanie’s journal entry, and the next she was reprimanding Ava, tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. She could see Ava’s confusion written all over her face, but most notably she could see the hurt flash through her eyes after having been scolded by the girl she believed was her friend.

Beatrice knew she’d have to explain. So with crumbling walls and emotions flowing freely through her body, she recited her story. Ever so careful not to go overboard. Ever so careful to keep the dam at bay. 

“My whole life, people have tried to make me into something I’m not,” she began. She could feel Ava’s gaze pierce her body, eyes filled with concern. 

“To make me normal. Or, at least, acceptable,” She continued, diverting her eyes from Ava’s. 

“I became skilled at so many things just so I would still have value despite my flaws, or what I’d been taught was a flaw...Of course I tried to fit in, but when you’re punished just for being _different_ ,” She paused, taking a deep breath, trying to regain control. 

“You begin to hate what you are. And what you _love_ …” Her eyes averted back to Ava’s.

“What should make you happy...only brings you _pain_ ,” She finished, voice faltering on the last word. She looked down at her hands. They were turning white from grasping each other so tightly. With a last stroke of control, she gathered some confidence and looked into Ava’s eyes. 

“ _Pain_ is what made me a sister warrior.” 

With eyes still trained on eachother, Ava began to speak. 

“Don’t hate what you are,” She began, pausing to scan Beatrice’s face which now had a single tear rolling down her cheek. _“What you are is beautiful.”_ she said carefully, hoping Beatrice would take her words to heart.

And just like that, the dam burst. She would never show it on her face, but the way Ava made her feel in that moment was _Earth shattering_. She could feel it all now. Every emotion she had buried deep inside for the past six years. Every heartache she pushed away in favor of silent prayers which she hoped would repent her sin. And lastly, she felt something she hadn’t felt in a very long time.

_Acceptance._

* * *

The next time Beatrice would feel like she was losing control would be that very evening, as she helped Ava phase through 20 feet of concrete. She had spent the last hour or so of their training trying to rebuild the dam, slowly, piece by piece. But she had to admit, not having the dam there to hold back her emotions felt oddly...nice. 

_“Stop it,”_ she told herself, watching as Ava sat idly beside her waiting for further instruction.

_“The dam keeps you safe. The dam keeps_ **_her_ ** _safe.”_

Beatrice shook her head at the thought, eager to get it out of her head. Ava noticed the small shift in emotion immediately.

“You alright there Bea?” 

It was as though the world stopped spinning for a second. Hearing the simple nickname she’d been assigned her whole life falling from Ava’s lips. It was like being hit by a tidal wave. She felt her heart start to race. 

_See, this is why we keep the dam shut._

Brushing off the slight panic, Beatrice made her way to the end of the concrete block. Ava followed closely behind. Beatrice cleared her throat. “I think it’s time to do this,” she said, watching as Ava’s eyebrows knitted in confusion. “Not what I asked, but okay...” 

Before Beatrice could say anything, Ava phased through the wall. She took note on the tablet of just how fast Ava was going and how quickly the halos energy was being depleted. 

“You’re just past the halfway point. You’re doing great.” 

She began to worry when Ava didn’t respond for a few seconds. “How far am I,” She heard through the earpiece. 

“Fourteen feet.” she said calmly.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” 

_“Concentrate.”_

She hoped Ava wouldn’t misinterpret her tone. “This wall is your fear. It’s your deepest pain.” Her eyes danced across the concrete slab, “Why can’t you get through it. What’s stopping you.” Ava’s panicked gasps could be heard through the comm.

“I don’t have enough energy.”

“That’s not it.” Beatrice countered.

“Yes it is!” Ava choked out. Beatrice could feel Ava’s panic as if it was her own. She had to do something.

“That is a physical limitation, it’s not what’s in your soul.” She said carefully.

“Well it fucking well is, because if I drain the halo I go back to being paralyzed!” 

All Beatrice could hear was more panic. 

“That’s what you’re afraid of...paralysis,” She tread carefully. 

“That’s not what scares me. What scares me is being alone. Abandoned in some sickbed with no one…” her voice trailed off. 

Beatrice knew she needed to choose her next words carefully. Ava was slowly progressing through the wall, but she still had 5 feet to go.

“That would never happen.” 

She stopped, her heart threatening to tell Ava everything she had wanted to say since their journal session that afternoon. Holding back, she continued on. 

“It wouldn’t matter if you were quadriplegic, festooned with boils, or a talking head in a bag,” She said confidently. Ava’s panicked breathing seemed to lessen as she did so. “You would still have us...and we would _never_ leave you.” 

She could feel the last words, pouring out from deep in her heart. She only hoped Ava could feel the sincerity she laced them with too. 

“You mean that?”

“You know I do.”

After that the line went dark. Beatrice began to panic slightly, wondering if Ava had gotten stuck. “Ava?” She ran around to the end of the concrete block. 

“Sixteen, crossing seventeen,” She breathed. Her eyes frantically watching Ava’s movement on the tracker. “Seventeen, now eighteen. Nearly there,” She beamed. This is what she had prayed for, this is what she wanted out of _her_ warrior nun. 

“Nineteen,” She paused, looking up the concrete eagerly. In a flash of orange Ava phased through the rock completely, almost tumbling to the ground. Without hesitation Beatrice pushed forward, ready to catch Ava in her arms. Both girls were sent to the ground on their knees, Ava wrapping her arms around Beatrice’s shoulders for support. Beatrice was ecstatic, and before she knew it she had her hands on either side of Ava’s face. “You did it!” she welled, running her fingers through Ava’s hair. 

It was at this moment she felt it. As her eyes searched Ava’s face, flicking down to steal a glance at her lips, Beatrice felt _the pull_. It was that exact pull that had gotten her sent to a catholic boarding school. The pull that had ruined her friendship with a girl she had known since grade school. It was the pull that made her ashamed to be who she was. 

_Don’t ruin this._

Her eyes flicked down to Ava’s lips once more. 

_Don’t lose control._

The moment seemed to go on forever before Ava finally spoke. “Only thanks to you.” 

Beatrice gathered her composure quickly, peeling herself away from Ava, a feeling of disappointment filling her body as she tried to remove herself from the... _situation._

“The halo is nearly depleted,” she stated, looking down at the tablet Jillian had given her. “We need to keep testing. Figure out how long it takes to recharge, so we can get you out of that tomb.” Her eyes scanned Ava’s face once more. “Think you’re up for a few more tries?”

“Yeah,” Ava replied immediately as she locked eyes with Beatrice once more. Beatrice froze.

This was it. This was the last chance for Beatrice to step back, because she knew if she kept on working with Ava then her walls would always be on the brink of crashing down. 

_You worked so hard. So long. Only to have her come in and make a mess of you in less than a week. Way to go Bea._

Her mind was screaming at her to turn away. Begging her to send Ava over to Camila. But her heart relented, thus stopping any and all progress she had made in repairing the dam that held back her emotions.

“I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

_At least I pray I will._

* * *

Now, as Beatrice lay against the shower wall, blood still flowing from her battered knuckles and body burnt from the scalding water, she felt whatever resolve she had left inside her break. The dam. The walls. Her faith. No amount of self control could save her from her own mind. Tears poured down her face, body shaking with the realization that she was powerless in this situation. 

_You have no control anymore._

She couldn’t remember how long she stayed there, numb to the world around her as memories of her and Ava played in her head. It was only when Mary came in, towel in hand, that Beatrice acknowledged her own disheveled state. Carefully, Mary helped Beatrice to her feet, eyes filled with concern as she took in the girl's broken appearance.

“Bea…” she began, before being cut off by the sister warrior's stern voice. 

“Just leave. Me. _Alone.”_ Beatrice growled. Her once hurt and pitiful feelings turned to those of anger. 

Mary stepped back, giving her friend some space. It was at that point she noticed just how cold Beatrice’s eyes were. How her knuckles were swollen and bloody. And how the steam radiated off of the girl’s body. Beatrice looked up at Mary, face completely void of any emotion. Eyes filled with hatred.

“I said go!”

With that, Mary exited the shower room, quickly walking back to the dormitory to warn Camila not to interact with their sister warrior for the time being. 

A few minutes passed. It was usually at this point that Beatrice would begin rebuilding. Putting all her effort into sealing the dam, adding another layer to the ever growing amount of walls she had around her heart, and closing off the doors to her mind and soul in hopes that they wouldn’t be opened again. But at this moment, she felt nothing. Absolutely _nothing_. 

She’d be lying if she said she didn’t fear for herself. Fear for her emotional wellbeing. But when you’ve been broken as many times as she has, maybe the only thing left at the end of the day is nothing. 

She didn’t have Ava.

She didn’t have a plan on how to fix this mess she got herself into.

_She didn’t. have._ **_Control_ ** _._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can see, Beatrice has a lot of soul searching to do. I hate seeing her broken like this, but it will only get better with time. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for the next update!


	3. Where control lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beatrice and Mary have a much needed conversation about control.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for your lovely comments! I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations!

Beatrice couldn’t sleep that night. She found herself constantly twisting and turning, trying to settle the billions of thoughts and emotions that ran through her body. She had never felt like this before, so out of touch with her serenity. _So lost._

She could recognize the breakdown, classify it as being pushed too far over the edge. Hell, she could even go as far as to say it wasn’t her at all, that it was all the doing of an evil power she let take control of her. But she knew that wasn’t the case. 

Sitting up ever so slowly, Beatrice looked around the room. Mary was snoring away on her bed, and Camila was wrapped tightly in her blanket as if she were being swaddled like a baby. Content with the knowledge that she wouldn’t be caught, she slowly made her way out of the room and down the hall into the heart of the cathedral. 

Beatrice knew better than to ask god for forgiveness this time. She couldn’t pray to him, asking him to grant her peace of mind and body when she knew her breakdown was all her own doing. There was no greater power at work when she drove her fists into the shower wall time and time again. There was no evil guiding her to yell at her friends, encouraging her to dwindle down into the weakest mindset she had ever found herself coming across.

No, it was all simply _her_. But deep down she knew why.

She sat down in one of the pews, drawing in a long breath before looking forward towards the altar. 

“You made me this,” Her voice quivered. 

“You made me different, weak minded, forced to put up this charade that I’m strong when I know I’m not.” She sniffled, eyes stinging as the tears started to flow. 

“I can take the blame for my actions. I can understand my weakness,” she whispered. “But I will never understand why **_I_** was chosen to bear this burden.” 

As anger began to course through her veins, she stood up and made her way down the aisle.

“You have made me feel like I’m a prisoner inside my own mind,” she spit, charging up towards the altar.

“Forcing me to bury my emotions, my wants and needs, _my love._ And for what? To please you?!” she yelled. Her eyes burned, fists balled up like she was ready to fight the man she had been worshiping since she was a small child.

“It’s because of you, I am **_broken!_** It’s because of you, I am **_numb!_** It’s because of you…” she trailed off, eyes glaring at the statue of her savior up above her.

“Because of you, I no longer have control,” she finished. Her voice calm, yet stern.

“Control of what,” came a familiar voice from behind her. Beatrice turned around finding Mary’s figure standing in the aisle, illuminated by the candles that lit the walkway. 

“Control of your team? Because last time I checked you’ve been doing pretty damn well at that,” Mary said, sitting down in the pew closest to Beatrice. 

“No, nothing like that,” Bea assured, casting her eyes down in regret. “Mary I apologize for what happe-” 

“Oh no, you do not get to apologize to me right now.” Mary interrupted. Her voice came out stern, yet laced with concern. “What you can do, is tell me what you suddenly lost control of that is making you yell at Jesus at…” she looked down at her watch. “3:16 am.”

Beatrice stood there, trying to find the right words to say. “Looking back at it I’m starting to question if I ever had control in the first place.”

“Control of _what_ Bea,” Mary pushed.

“Control of everything!” She exclaimed, her head fuming with frustration and anger. 

“Control of my emotions, control of my life, control of all of this!” she motioned into the air around them. “I didn’t choose this Mary, it was _forced_. I didn’t ask to be sent away from my family. I didn't ask to be chosen by the OCS when I turned 18. And I sure as hell didn’t ask to be placed as a leader when I can’t even lead myself in the right direction half the time,” she choked out. 

Mary stood slowly, making her way towards Beatrice, grabbing the girls hands and placing them in her own. 

“Look at me Bea.” 

Beatrice looked up at her friend, a fresh set of tears pooling in her eyes. 

“I know it’s hard. And I know you say you didn’t ask for this but think about it this way for just one second.” Mary took a moment to gather her thoughts before continuing. 

“Control is not always a good thing, Bea. Control can make even the strongest of people go mad, tricking them into thinking their worth is less than because they struggle with restraint. Whether that be physical or emotional,” she added. Beatrice nodded her head, anger still coursing through her body in tidal waves.

“You shouldn’t believe that your worth is judged by your emotional repression and physical strength Beatrice. Because to us, your friends and sisters, we know what you’re worth. And it’s priceless.” Mary sniffled, struggling to get through the speech. 

“You don’t need to hold back anything you feel Bea. I know it may seem dumb to hear after years of being told to stay silent, but damn girl you gotta start voicing your feelings some more, okay?” Mary chuckled. 

Beatrice stood still, her mind working hard trying to grasp the information Mary was giving her. Her body threatening to betray her and take off towards the cathedral doors. 

Mary paused, contemplating whether or not she should tell the girl the story that lay on the tip of her tongue. 

_“She needs to hear it,”_ she thought. She took one shaky breath in before continuing the one sided conversation. 

“Nobody knows this, but Shannon dealt with a lot of the same issues you’re going through right now.” Beatrice’s ears perked up at the mention of the previous Warrior Nun. “She had a lot of struggles, _personal_ struggles, that caused her a lot of pain. For a while she wouldn’t let me in, wouldn’t let anyone in for that matter, and I saw her slowly destroy herself Bea.” 

Mary began crying, tears flowing down her face. Beatrice squeezed her hands in reassurance, silently telling Mary she could take all the time she needed and that she wasn’t going anywhere. 

“She never wanted to be the Warrior Nun. She never wanted that responsibility to fall on her shoulders…” Mary trailed off. “When she got the halo, however, she threw herself into the position heart first. But when she realized how powerful it was, how it reacted to her emotions...that’s when it got bad. She became cold, reserved. She’d do anything she could just to remain in control of the Halo, because the last thing she wanted was the Halo to take control of _her_.”

Beatrice stared in confusion, the storm inside her mind calming down for a second. “But she wasn’t like that on our missions.”

“Not the last ones. But the first few, when you and Lilith were sent on that divinium trail in Granada for a month, those were rough.” she explained. 

Beatrice nodded in response, kicking herself for forgetting that Shannon had been chosen as Halo Bearer after their last mission as equals. It was because of that mission's failure that Beatrice and Lilith were sent on a wild divinium goose chase for a month in the first place.

“She wouldn’t let herself feel anything that month. Any emotions she had, she buried them deep down in a place I didn't even know existed. It got to the point where I felt like a stranger in her presence, and it took me that whole month to figure out it was because she was trying to hide her feelings for me…” Mary said, defeated. “I told her she didn’t have to hide, that she could feel whatever she needed to feel. But she wanted to stay in control.” 

Mary turned her head, spotting a bible that lay forgotten in the pew. 

“That control is what made us drift apart,” she explained. Beatrice gasped slightly at the news. 

_“I thought they had always been fine,”_ she pondered. She listened carefully to Mary’s next words, hoping they would give her the last answers she needed to end this internal war she was facing.

“And that need for control is what caused the Halo to begin rejecting her.” Mary finished, turning her attention back to Beatrice. The shorter girl stood there astonished.

“Rejecting her...I don't understand.”

Mary released their hands, turning to grab the bible she had been eyeing earlier. 

“She was so worried about what was in this,” she said, tapping the bible lightly. “She forgot what was in this,” she countered, pointing her finger to Beatrice's chest where her heart lay. 

“By rejecting her feelings, the Halo began rejecting her in return,” she explained, watching as Beatrice’s eyes stared at her, wide in amazement. 

“It was...terrifying to say the least. She woke up screaming, I could hear it all the way from my room. When I got to her I could see the face of the Halo, sticking about a centimeter out of her back. She asked me what was happening to her and I had no idea, so we rushed to see Mother superion and that’s when she explained how the Halo Bearers bond works. She told us if Shannon didn’t allow herself to feel anything, the Halo would begin to think the Bearer was...well, dead, I guess. Feelings are the key to the Halo’s strength, and with Shannon's emotions being held back, it started to lose power. It started seeking another host.” 

Mary locked eyes with Beatrice.

“It was only then that she realized what a big mistake she had made. She had spent so long trying to mask her feelings, fearing that they would conflict with her self control. But she didn’t take the time to realize that those emotions are what made her human. Those feelings were what attached her to the Halo. Not a religious bond, not a system of belief, just those raw and powerful emotions that she was too afraid to acknowledge in the first place.”

Mary walked around Beatrice, watching as the smaller girl connected the dots in her head. 

“After that, she became...well, Shannon I guess. The Shannon we all knew and loved. The Shannon **_I_ **fell in love with.”

She turned away from Beatrice to face the altar. “And the one thing Shannon always said she regretted, was not allowing herself to feel everything sooner.” she concluded, happy with their discussion. 

Beatrice hung onto every word desperately, finally understanding what Mary had been getting at.

“I had no idea…” She looked down in disappointment. Regret started to fill her body as she thought back on the six years she spent building her walls, trying to hide who she was from the rest of the world. 

She felt Mary’s hand on her shoulder.

“That’s why I’m telling you this Bea. So you can see that this ‘thing” you have, about staying in control, is total bullshit.”

“Language,” Beatrice muttered. A smile slowly making its way onto her face.

“Oh hush, let me have my moment. What I’m trying to show you in all of this, is that we don’t need you to be reserved and cut off from emotion in order for you to be a great sister warrior Bea. If anything, opening up and allowing yourself to feel will only make you better.”

Beatrice stared at her apprehensively. Thinking back on how she got to the OCS in the first place. 

“But pain is what made me a sister warrior,” she said, repeating the same phrase she had told Ava days before.

“No, _this_ is what made you a sister warrior,” Mary said, pointing to her heart. “It’s gonna take a while for you to accept that, but it’s the truth. You wouldn’t have stayed with us if you didn’t want to. And you wouldn’t have fought for us, all of us, if your heart wasn’t in it.”

Beatrice swallowed hard. She was having a difficult time ingesting this information, but she knew it all to be true. She just couldn’t believe she let herself stay in such an awful situation for so long. 

Mary spoke up, “You can still control missions and information recons Bea, but don’t be scared to loosen up when it comes to your heart.”

The younger girl nodded, clearing her throat before speaking. 

“It’s gonna take some time for me to adjust…” she began. “But I believe you, and I will try my hardest to... **_feel_ **things,” she said, pausing on the word as though it caused her pain. Mary chuckled in response. 

“There we go, that’s what I like to hear,” she said, enveloping Beatrice in a loose hug, feeling the smaller girl's arms wrap around her waist hesitantly. 

Beatrice still didn’t know how to feel, _what_ to feel even. But if opening up the gates that held back her emotions meant being a better sister warrior, a better friend, then she’d try and allow herself to open them. Ever so slowly, of course. 

“We will be with you every step of the way,” Mary reassured. 

“I know you will.” Beatrice whispered, relaxing into the hug, allowing herself to... _feel_ the warmth and guidance Mary projected. The two broke apart shortly after. 

“Now come on, we got to get some sleep if we wanna make the whole drive back to Arqtech in one day,” Mary said, watching as Beatrice’s face lit up at the thought of seeing Ava within 24 hours time. The feeling didn’t last long though as the thought of Ava being critically injured, or even worse, _dead,_ invaded her mind. 

_I promised I’d never leave her._

Mary saw the shift in emotions right away, jumping in quickly in hopes that she could stop the girl from undoing all the emotional progress they had made tonight. “I know it’s hard for you to be away from her Bea, but trust me when I say that girl has a fight in her like no other. She wouldn’t leave that easy...especially if it meant she’d be leaving you.”

Beatrice stared at Mary, stunned. “How do you mean,” she asked. The last sentence Mary spoke replaying in her head.

Mary shook her head and laughed, “You really haven’t been paying attention to her have you Bea?” 

Beatrice continued staring at the woman in confusion. 

_“Not paying attention? I’ve been paying more attention than anyone else…”_ she thought. 

Mary continued to laugh, watching as the girl in front of her silently tried to figure out the meaning behind her words. 

“It’s fine Bea, you’ll figure it out soon enough. Now come on, I wanna leave by 7:30 and as much as I have enjoyed this talk, I’d much rather be sleeping right now.” Mary said, turning to make her way out of the cathedral. 

“Agreed,” Beatrice laughed, following Mary back to the dormitories. 

Hurriedly, the girls made their way back to their beds. Camila was still asleep, swaddled in her cozy blankets, which made Beatrice smile.

She crawled into her bed, wrapping herself in the now cold sheets, turning to Mary one last time before she succumbed to the sleepiness she felt starting to tug at her eyelids.

“Hey Mary," she whispered.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

And with that, Beatrice closed her eyes and drifted off into the calmest sleep she’d had in weeks. Mind empty, but heart full with the knowledge that in due time she’d be on the road, making her way back to Arqtech to see her Halo Bearer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we go, Broken Beatrice finally comes to a...crossroads, if you will. For those who enjoyed seeing an out of control Beatrice, don't worry. She still has plenty of battles to work through before she learns how to handle the feels. I hope you enjoyed! See you in the next chapter, lovelies.


	4. Cars and conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls finally begin making their way back to Arqtech, and Mary and Camila have an interesting conversation on the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is short, but I just needed some filler before we get into the heart of the story, enjoy!

Beatrice awoke the next morning to the sound of rustling sheets and hushed conversion. Carefully, she sat up and stretched out her aching limbs, taking note of the sharp pain that shot through her side every time she breathed, and the throbbing sensation that went through her knuckles every time she moved her fingers. Wincing slightly, she seemed to have drawn the attention of Mary and Camila who were already dressed in their civvies and ready to hit the road.

“You alright there Bea?” Mary asked, watching as Beatrice slowly made her way out of the bed, standing by its side.

“Yes, I believe one of the tourists I was fighting off yesterday managed to catch me in the ribs. I should be fine, it just aches is all.” Beatrice reassured. 

She thought back to yesterday's battle at the Vatican, remembering how she had been caught off guard when she heard Ava scream out in pain as Adriel stabbed her in the stomach with a divinium knife. She had been so concerned for Ava’s wellbeing, she didn’t notice the man she was fighting come right at her, sending a solid spin kick right into her abdomen. 

Shaking the memory off, Beatrice gathered the civvies that Mary had placed on the bedside table for her and walked to the bathroom to change. Quickly, she shed the lounge pants and T-shirt she was wearing and dressed herself in a pair of black fitted jeans and a maroon long sleeve shirt. 

Content with the outfit, she made her way back to the room, watching as Camila and Mary carried on with their conversation. She hurriedly made up her bed and folded the nightwear, silently wondering when they would begin their long drive to Arqtech. Not even a second later, the two girls that had been conversing with one another grew silent, each turning away and grabbing whatever clothing and weapons they needed before looking back at Beatrice. 

“Alright Bea, you ready to hit the road?” Mary asked, balancing a shotgun in one hand and her trench coat in the other. Beatrice could feel Camila’s eyes on her from across the room. 

Nodding in agreement, she swiftly grabbed the few knives she had brought with her and began heading for the door, stopping when she reached Camila’s side. Slowly, she brought her gaze to Camila’s, watching as the younger girl diverted her eyes to the floor, careful not to make her sister upset like she had done the night before. Beatrice frowned at the sight, drowning in the knowledge that she had hurt Camila’s feelings so severely. She raised her hand and placed it on the shorter girl's shoulder, causing Camila to look up at her. 

“I am very sorry for the way I treated you yesterday, Camila. I had no right to snap at you like that, especially when you have done nothing but great things for us all. I will forever be grateful that you are a part of this team, and I hope somehow you can find it in your heart to forgive me.” 

Beatrice tore her gaze from Camila’s, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. The smaller girl stood in disbelief, partly because of Beatrice’s heartfelt apology, the other part because she had never seen Beatrice so vulnerable before. Without a second thought she reached up and placed her hand on top of Beatrice’s which still lay on her shoulder. 

“I will always forgive you Beatrice. I can only imagine how hard yesterday was for you, for all of us really, but I know enough to understand that you needed some time to figure things out, and I’m happy to see that you’ve done so.” Camila said with sincerity. “Just remember that we are always here for you, no matter what the case may be. You never have to fight alone, not when you have your sisters by your side,” she finished. 

A single tear fell down Beatrice’s cheek as she reveled in Camila’s kind words. She didn’t know if the younger girl understood how much of an impact those words had on her, but she smiled in hopes that Camila could feel how thankful she was to have her sister by her side once again.

Without another word, Camila slipped out from under Beatrice’s hand and made her way towards the door.

“Now I don’t know about you two, but I slept like a baby last night, so I will gladly take the first shift and drive until I am exhausted once more.” She smiled, happily making her way to the drivers side of the van. 

Beatrice and Mary chuckled at the girl's enthusiasm, both silently ecstatic that they didn’t have to play driver for at least another 6 hours. 

Beatrice found herself walking to the back of the van, nerves flooding her body at the thought of being greeted by Ava’s blood which previously covered the entirety of the backseat. Taking a deep breath she opened the door, ready to lay her eyes on the bloody mess, but instead she was greeted with clean seats, free of any blood that Ava had spilled yesterday in their frantic search to find a hospital. Confused, she turned to her sisters for answers. 

“I cleaned the car last night while you were gone taking a shower,” Mary explained as she slipped into the passenger seat. “I thought it’d be better for everyone if we didn’t leave it the way it was. It would be too hard to look at.” She finished, strapping herself in with the seatbelt.

Beatrice muttered a quiet, “thank you,” before taking her seat in the van, placing her hand on the spot where Ava once laid. 

Before any negative thoughts could flood her brain, the van came to life with a slight rumble. Camila immediately shifted the vehicle into first gear and took off down the path, making her way towards the main road. 

With her hand still placed on the seat, Beatrice said a silent prayer for the Halo Bearer, hoping that God would be so kind as to place his healing hand over her and keep her safe until the two girls could be reunited again.

* * *

The girls all took turns driving as they embarked on the seventeen hour long journey back to Arqtech.

Camila had managed to last seven hours in the driver's seat before passing the duty on to Mary, who was more than happy to take over. It was at this time Beatrice decided to close her eyes, hoping to get a few hours worth of sleep before Mary would pass the driving duty on to her. 

Mary looked in the rearview mirror, happy to see that Beatrice had relaxed enough to fall into a deep slumber. Camila took notice of this too, smiling at the sight of her sleepy friend in the backseat. Her smile quickly faded away, however, when she thought back to how upset Beatrice had been the night before.

“Mary, what do you think will happen to Beatrice if Ava...didn’t make it,” Camila asked quietly. 

She didn’t _want_ to think of the possibility that their friend was gone, but she knew it was something that needed to be discussed. She saw Mary take a deep breath, eyes darting to the rearview mirror before speaking. 

“Do you want me to respond honestly or optimistically.” She eyed the smaller girl in the passenger seat. 

“Honestly, please.”

Mary sighed, “Honestly...I think Bea will leave the OCS. That’s if you all haven’t already been excommunicated of course.” 

Camila gasped slightly at the thought. She knew they had caused a great deal of trouble back at the Vatican, but she didn’t stop long enough to think about the fact she could be excommunicated. It broke her heart to picture having to leave the OCS, but she pushed those thoughts away, choosing to focus back on Mary instead. 

“What else,” she asked, sensing there was more that Mary wanted to say. 

Mary stayed quiet, contemplating whether or not she should ask the petit nun the question that had been floating around her head for the past few days. Curiosity got the better of her in the end.

“Camila, have you noticed anything... _different_ about Beatrice since Ava came along?”

The small girl took a second to think. 

“She seems happier. But at the same time I’ve never seen her so reserved, cautious, even.” Her eyes flickered over to Mary. “Why?”

Silence filled the van. Camila could practically see the gears turning in Mary’s head as she struggled to find a suitable response. 

“I was just wondering if you were seeing the same things I’d been seeing, and it appears you have.” Mary said.

Camila paused, pondering what Mary was trying to get at.

“And what exactly do you think I’ve been seeing, Mary.” she pushed.

_Silence._

“That our little friend back there, is in love.”

Both girls sat quietly, letting the statement hang in the air long enough for the silence to become uncomfortable. Camila shuffled awkwardly, glancing back at Beatrice who still lay asleep, deaf to the conversation around her. She sighed.

“If Ava is dead, Beatrice will never forgive herself.”

Mary still sat quietly, glancing at the clock on the dashboard which read 2:45 PM. She pressed her foot down harder on the gas pedal, willing the car to go much faster than the speed limit.

“We better pray Ava is alive then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess Beatrice isn't as good at keeping her feelings hidden as she thought, ha. Since we will begin getting into the heart of the story in the next chapter, I must warn you that updates may no longer come daily. I plan on working very hard to push out quality content for you all, and if it means taking two or three days to write a beautiful chapter then so be it. I hope you all understand. I'll see you lovelies in the next update!


	5. Damage control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls finally make it to Arqtech, but no one could prepare them for the challenges they're about to face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jesus, this took forever to write. But I did it! I hope you all enjoy!

The clock had just struck midnight when Beatrice pulled their van into the Arqtech parking lot.

_Right on time_.

She had been driving for about 5 hours now, significantly less than Camila had done but almost equal to the amount of time Mary had put in. 

Cautiously, she pulled the van into a parking space in the back corner of the lot, hoping that their arrival wouldn’t draw too much attention from the security guards she noticed milling around the front of the building. She had counted four of them standing there, which was very odd since on their previous missions and visits there had always only been two. 

_I hope that extra security isn’t for us_ , she wondered, before turning off the vehicle's engine. She rotated in her seat, expecting to see Camila and Mary getting ready to exit the car, but instead she was greeted with the sight of both sisters sleeping soundly, using one another as their pillows. 

_No wonder they’ve been so quiet._ She smiled softly at the two girls.

Careful not to wake them up, she slowly turned back around and undid her seatbelt before opening the car door. Her body ached as she stood, slowly stretching her arms and legs to regain the feeling she had lost while driving for so many hours. 

She looked down at her knuckles, which still burned with even the most miniscule hand movement. Memories of the previous night flooded her mind, threatening to once again claim the serenity she had slowly started to regain over the last few hours.

Panicked, she took a deep breath in and closed her eyes, focusing on nothing but the sound of the wind as it made its way through the trees. 

_You’re okay_. She exhaled. 

_You’re going to be fine._ **_She’s_ ** _going to be fine._

Taking one last deep breath in and out, Beatrice opened her eyes. The only thing illuminating the world around her was the large Arqtech sign, which shined with such brilliance it almost felt like a “welcome home” to her.

Turning back towards the van, content with her... _calmer_ mental state, she noticed some movement coming from the backseat, followed by a quiet mumble of words she couldn’t quite make out. Almost immediately after, Camila’s little face popped out over the driver's seat, her sleepy eyes darting side to side in a search for Beatrice.

“I’m over here Camila,” Beatrice voiced, right as the smaller girl's eyes focused on her. 

“Oh good, I thought you had gone in without us,” Camila said, their conversation causing Mary to stir. Beatrice eyed Mary, watching as she slowly blinked her eyes a few times before closing them once more, leaning her head against the seat.

“Are we fucking there yet,” Mary groaned, as she slowly began coming back into full consciousness. 

“Language,” Camila giggled. “And yes Mary, We’re here.”

“About damn time, I can’t feel my ass,” she said, obviously ignoring the other girl’s warning.

Slowly, the two girls made their way out of the van, stretching out their limbs before turning their attention towards Beatrice, who stood quietly by the drivers side door. She looked nervous, which was very out of character for her, but Camila and Mary said nothing, opting to gather their overnight bags and the few weapons they needed instead.

“Alright girls, ready to do this?” Mary asked, staring at the heavily guarded doors of Arqtech. Her friends nodded their heads slowly, each silently praying they’d be let in without a fight.

“Okay then.”

With that being said, Mary cocked her shotgun and began walking towards the guards, her sisters following closely behind. Beatrice kept a hand over the knives she had strapped to her chest, eager and ready to throw them at the first sign of trouble, and Camila had her crossbow by her side, ready and loaded with a divinium tipped arrow. 

With about 30 feet left to go, the guards finally turned their attention towards the heavily armed women. Three of the men stepped back, lowering their weapons to their side, while one man stood completely still, staring the women down as they came closer and closer.

Upon closer inspection, Mary noticed this man wasn’t a security officer at all, but the large rifle that clung to his side prevented Mary from lowering her guard. He was wearing a business suit with an Arqtech badge embroidered to the front breast pocket, smiling softly at the three girls as they walked up to him. 

“You must be Lilith's friends.” He said, slowly stepping to the side, dismissing the three armed guards from their posts with one wave of a hand. 

The sisters all stole quick glances at one another, eyes wide upon hearing the man speak their friends name. Swiftly, they regained their composure, each turning their attention towards the man who stood before them. He looked at the three girls with a smirk. 

“She’s been waiting for you. Please, follow me.”

With that being said, he turned and began walking towards the door, not bothering to look back to see if the girls were following him.

Without hesitation, Beatrice took a step forward, quickly falling in step with the man as he walked. Hesitantly, Mary and Camila followed suit with hands on their weapons just in case they were being led into a trap. 

The mystery man, who now held the door wide open for the girls glanced at all of them one last time. That small smirk still toying on the edge of his lips.

“Right this way.”

* * *

It felt like time had stopped as the girls walked side by side down the never ending hallways of Arqtech. The building was eerily quiet, the only noise coming from the soles of their shoes as they padded against the glossy white floor. 

Although Beatrice had been here a handful of times, she couldn’t help but feel lost as they made their way deeper and deeper into the heart of the institution. Maybe it was the nerves clouding her memory, causing her to forget where each turn would take them; Or maybe it was the fact that she hadn’t quite reached this part of the building before. 

Looking around for signs that would point her to their location, her heart dropped as she fixated her gaze on a plaque that hung above a pair of double doors the man had been leading them to. In dark, bold letters, the plaque read “ **Critical Care Unit**.”

Mary and Camila must have noticed the sign too since both girls had tensed up slightly, slowing down their walk as they did so. As they reached the doors, the man turned around, facing the girls once more. He was no longer wearing the smirk he had been when they first met moments ago, Instead, his face was now unreadable. He placed one hand on the door handle before speaking. 

“Jillian will be waiting for you in the office at the end of the hall. I hope you find your friend well.”

With that he pushed open the door, standing to the side so each woman could enter before letting it close behind them with a metallic thud. The girls looked around at each other, silently waiting for one of them to speak their mind. 

“Should we be worried, considering he mentioned _only_ Lilith, not once, but twice?” Camila asked quietly. 

Beatrice opened her mouth to speak, but she couldn’t find any words. Everything in her wanted to scream that Camila was wrong, but the sinking feeling in her gut reminded her that there was a decent chance Ava had in fact not made it through the night, let alone the whole day following their departure. 

“I guess there’s nothing left to do but find out,” Mary droned. Her voice already sounding defeated. 

Slowly they began walking towards the office, nerves filling the air with every step they took. Before they could even reach the door, Jillian Salvius stepped out, running a hand over her tired eyes. It wasn’t long before she noticed the three girls standing there, staring at her with wide eyes; nervous expressions coating their faces. With a small smile she greeted the women.

“It’s nice to see you all again. I hope the trip was easier on you than it was on your friends.” Her smile faltered as she said the last sentence, eyes diverting to the floor before looking back at the girls. 

“Why don’t you all come take a seat so I can properly explain everything,” she said. Her hand motioned back to the room beside her. 

Without hesitation, the girls filed into the room one by one before taking their respective seats. Jillian followed behind them, opting to stand against the door instead of sitting down in a chair. She took a deep breath before allowing herself to speak.

“As I’m sure you are all aware, Lilith was successful in her attempt to transport Ava and herself here to Arqtech.” 

All three girls let out a collective sigh of relief at the statement, especially upon hearing the Halo Bearers name for the first time since they arrived. 

“However, there were some...complications.” Jillian trailed off. She could feel the nuns’ eyes on her, burning deeper into her with every second that passed. Her gaze flickered across each girl, registering their separate emotions before continuing. 

“I guess I’ll start with Lilith.” She walked over to her desk, grabbing a tablet similar to the one Beatrice used to monitor Ava with. 

“When Lilith arrived...well, it wasn’t pretty. The portal she used to teleport herself and Ava was too powerful, it short circuited every computer and machine within 10 meters reach of her body.”

She clicked the face of the tablet a couple of times, bringing up a video.

“I was down the hall when they arrived, but as you can see here in this video from the hallway security footage, we managed to find each other pretty easily.”

Jillian clicked the play button and turned the tablet so it was facing the girls. The picture was fuzzy, but they could clearly see Lilith limping down the hallway with a bloody Ava in her arms, struggling to keep the girl from falling out of her grip. 

Beatrice paled at the sight, wishing she had been there to help her friends; To keep them safe.

A few seconds later, Jillian could be seen emerging from somewhere beyond the camera's visibility, immediately running over and grabbing hold of Ava’s upper body. She conversed frantically with Lilith, before two men came rushing in behind her with a gurney. Quickly, Lilith and herself placed Ava on the bed, after which they all turned and began running down the hallway and out of the camera's line of sight. 

Jillian paused the video, each girl looking up at her as she did so. 

“You can’t see it here, but Ava was immediately rushed down into surgery. Meanwhile I stayed behind so I could monitor Lilith and take care of her injuries.”

Beatrice grew angry at this, “So you’re telling me you just left Ava to whoever was available?” She clenched her fists, ignoring the burning sensation coming from her knuckles. 

Jillian stared at her, surprised by the girl's sudden outburst. “Beatrice I know it’s hard to believe but there was nothing that **_I_** , personally, could do for Ava at the time. After all I’m a scientist, not a surgeon. But I sent her the most capable surgeons I had available, believe me.” 

She placed a hand on Beatrice’s leg, gently patting the girl with the hope it would offer some reassurance. Beatrice tensed at the touch, but she didn’t push Jillian's hand away. Instead, she let the woman finish the gesture, feeling the loss of warmth as Jillian pulled her hand back a few seconds later. 

“Now with that settled, It’s important that you all understand Liliths... _complications_ , before I let you go and see her.” She clicked around on the tablet once more, bringing up a diagram and a few charts. “Lilith managed to drain every power source around her when she arrived. At first I thought it was just the electromagnetic energy that the portal gave off which caused our computers to fail, but after running a few tests I discovered I was wrong. The portal itself did manage to draw out power from our devices, but it was nothing compared to Lilith. She somehow managed to take that energy for herself.” 

The girls all looked at each other, confused by Dr. Salvius's words. Noting the confusion of the girls' faces, Jillian continued on. 

“Essentially, Lilith was running out of energy, and unlike Ava’s halo which charges on its own, Lilith had to manually take that energy in order to not collapse upon stepping out of the portal. It’s...astonishing really. We still haven’t figured out exactly how she did it, but it was more than likely an unconscious action that her body performed in order to keep her safe.” 

The girls all nodded slowly as they began to understand what Dr. Salvius was telling them. A look of confusion flashed through Mary's face again before she spoke up. “So if Lilith is alive and apparently full of energy from these devices, what complications could she possibly have?”

Jillian took a deep breath in, “Well you see, her complications are more...supernatural, than anything.” She scanned the girls faces, hoping they would understand what she was trying to say. 

“After she drained the energy from the computers, her strength levels were off the charts. Honestly, the only time I had seen something like it was when I ran my initial tests on Ava and the Halo. With that being said, we have determined for sure that Lilith is not 100% human, rather she is 50% or more... _Tarask_ , I believe is what you all call it.”

Camila’s breath hitched in her throat, causing her to emit an audible squeak at the doctor's words. Mary turned to make sure Camila was okay before responding to Jillian.

“I’m still not hearing much about those complications doc.”

Jillian rolled her eyes slightly before speaking. “There are three issues we have come across since Lilith has been in our care. The first one being immense headaches, which render her almost completely unresponsive for five to ten minutes at a time. So far she has experienced several of these events, with the last one happening right before you all arrived.”

Mary nodded her head, urging the doctor to continue. 

“The second issue is her brain activity. It’s...frantic to say the least. From what I’ve been able to uncover, it seems as though there are multiple levels of communication constantly going through her brain at one time. Almost as if there was more than one person sharing it.” 

Mary gulped at the news, worried she knew exactly where this conversation was headed. 

“Finally, there’s the visions. Every time Lilith tries to sleep or close her eyes for a few seconds even, she sees what can only be described as... _hell_. Every Time she’s transported to that place her brain waves become erratic...and that’s when she begins to hear... _them_.” She trailed off. 

Mary looked at her expectantly, “That’s when she begins to hear _who_ , exactly?”

Jillian paused, unsure of how the three girls in front of her would feel once she relayed the information to them. 

“The other demons,” she sighed, standing up and making her way towards the door. “The ones that lay on the other side, calling for her to come and join them in that torturous environment. They believe she is one of them, and her presence here on Earth makes them angry, jealous even from the way she explains it.”

The news caused Camila to gasp before muttering, “poor Lilith...” under her breath. The room grew silent after that, each girl taking a few minutes to ingest the less than amusing information they were just given. Finally, Beatrice spoke up. 

“No matter her... _complications_ , she’s still our sister. Always has been, and always will be, right girls?” she asked, turning to face Camila and Mary who each nodded their heads solidly in agreement. Jillian smiled softly at the sight. 

“I’m glad to hear that, and I’d be happy to show you to her room whenever you’re ready,” she said, opening the door slightly as she did so.

Without hesitation the three girls stood up, following Jillian as she began leading them down yet another white glossy hallway. It only took them about 20 seconds to reach a door which had the name “Lilith” scribbled on it in a dry erase marker. 

Gingerly, Dr. Salvius raised her fist to the door, knocking three times before opening it slowly and stepping aside so the three girls could enter first. 

One by one the girls all stepped in, watching with wide eyes as Lilith sat there on the bed, seemingly unaware of their presence. Jillian walked up to the girl, carefully waving her hand in front of Lilith's face before sighing and turning back to the girls. 

“It seems to be another vision, only this time it’s happening with her eyes open. I expect her to come back to us shortly,” she said as she grabbed the tablet to monitor Lilith's brain waves. 

Nearly 30 seconds later, Lilith came back into consciousness with a loud gasp, deeply startling her sisters. Panicked, she looked around the room, eyes darting in every direction before spotting the three girls who stood at the edge of the space beside Dr. Salvius. Her panic faded as she recognized her friend's presence, a small smile appearing on her face as she did so. 

Without a second thought all three girls walked towards her, quickly enveloping the grey haired girl in a suffocating embrace. She laughed at their affection before allowing herself to raise her arms and hug them all back. 

“Guys, I’m okay. There’s no need to get all emotional over me,” she chuckled. The three girls stepped back, each wiping their eyes which had begun filling with tears. 

“Girl, if you think for a second we wouldn’t be worrying about your demon ass then you’re dead wrong,” Mary laughed. Lilith glared at the girl slightly before smiling once more. That smile quickly faded, however, when she noticed someone from their little group was still missing. 

“Where’s Ava….I thought she’d be with you all by now?” 

Tension filled the air as the three girls looked at their sister, confused by her words. Almost immediately, they all turned to face Dr. Salvius, who stood in the corner of the room with a blank look on her face. Stepping forward, she motioned for the three girls to take a seat in the chairs that surrounded Lilith's bed. 

“I didn’t want to say anything until I could get you all together, that way I’d only have to explain this once.” 

With a deep breath, she positioned herself in front of the four sisters, silently preparing for the chaos she feared her next words would bring forth. 

“Ava made it through the surgery...but the Halo still hasn’t recharged.”

She paused for a second, diverting her eyes to the ground before whispering out the words the girls feared most. 

“She still hasn’t woken up.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, I suck for leaving it on a cliffhanger. But good news, Avatrice will come in full force during the next chapter. Until then...bye lovelies!


	6. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls finally get to see Ava, but not in the way they'd hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What can I say, I tried Lol. I hope you enjoy this mess.

_“She still hasn’t woken up.”_

  
  


The words fell delicately from Jillian’s lips, but the damage they caused was catastrophic. 

“How is this possible…” Beatrice whispered out.

Jillian cleared her throat, “Before we delve deeper into that, you should all know that Ava’s surgery went very well. She did lose an alarming amount of blood which is why her surgery lasted nearly 4 hours, but my team was able to successfully repair the damage caused by the sword. She’s a very lucky girl, had the sword gone in any further it would have hit her major internal organs and she would have been dead in seconds…” 

She paused, knowing she had said too much by the harsh glare Mary sent her way. She backtracked quickly.

“But luckily it didn’t! And Ava is recovering, slowly but surely. Since the injury was caused by divinium, however, it will have to heal on its own time. I’m estimating two, maybe three weeks of recovery at the most.”

The girls breathed a collective sigh of relief at Jillian’s words, but Beatrice felt her stomach drop as she thought back on something Jillian had mentioned earlier.

“Doctor Salvius...you said Halo still hasn’t recharged. Correct?” 

Jillian stared at Beatrice, taking in the girl's broken appearance. She had never seen Beatrice like this before. Slowly, she nodded her head at the question. “That’s what I was hoping to explain next actually, you se-” She was cut off by Beatrice before she could finish.

“Th- the Halo...it’s always been able to recharge.” 

Panic started to set in causing Beatrice to mumble out strings of incoherent sentences as she quickly tried to get her thoughts together. Her sisters looked at her, shocked by the sudden drop in Beatrice’s composure; but they all stayed silent in hopes that Beatrice would work her way back to them in due time. 

Beatrice paused as she tried to think back to the previous warrior nuns journal entries, hoping she would remember something useful to aid them in this situation.

“S-sister Melanie. She wrote in the journal that she once exerted too much power from the Halo, and it left her drained...but she didn’t say how long the recovery time was. Maybe that’s what’s happening now with Ava.” 

She looked around at her sisters for their input, but she could tell from their sullen faces and less than confident nods that her theory was falling short. 

“Sister…” Camila said, turning her body to face Beatrice’s. “It’s a good thought, and normally I would agree with you wholeheartedly, but you and I both know that Melanie didn’t sustain even a _tenth_ of what Ava’s injuries are...and from divinium nonetheless. That fact alone leaves us with nothing to accurately compare Ava’s situation to.”

The younger girl reached out, pulling Beatrice’s hand into her own. Beatrice tensed at the touch. She wanted nothing more than to tell Camila she was wrong and that Ava was _different_ , but she stayed quiet.

‘ _I’m not gonna hurt my friend again.’_

Camila laced their fingers together, squeezing Beatrice’s hand softly before turning her attention to Doctor Salvius. 

“Doctor, can you enlighten us on the current status of Halo if possible?” She asked carefully.

Jillian nodded before pulling up a chart on her tablet, sighing and shaking her head as she looked over the readings. 

“As I was saying, when Ava had come to me alone asking for me to “ _science the hell out of her_ ” as she called it, I was able to get a full reading of the Halo and it’s power levels.”

She turned the tablet around, showing the girls an illustrated chart. 

“I don’t exactly know how to measure the Halo’s power in relative terms, so bear with me as this is the best I could come up with. As you can see here, the Halo stayed at a constant level of energy output while Ava was resting. Whenever I began testing her, however, the energy output increased immensely.” 

She pointed towards a large spike in the model. 

“If I had to guess, I possibly doubled the energy outflow, but I know it hurt Ava to expel that level of energy so we stopped the testing. After that the Halo’s levels decreased, working steadily at half its resting power for nearly 4 minutes. I understand this to be a ‘recharge’ time, of sorts. Similar to the one you had established as she was phasing through the wall, but different in the sense that the Halo hadn’t been depleted, seemingly... _amplified_.”

She turned the tablet back towards herself, clicking a few times before finding what she was looking for. She eyed the girls cautiously before speaking. 

“When Ava was released from surgery, I was able to connect her to the machine I had used to run my initial scan of the Halo. I was hoping to monitor Ava’s healing process, but when her non-divinium related injuries showed no signs of accelerated improvement, I took it upon myself to run another full scan of the Halo’s energy levels…”

She took a deep breath before turning the tablet around. Beatrice felt her heart stop as she gazed upon the chart placed in front of her. 

“We have run outflow tests every hour, on the hour, for nearly a whole day. And I’m sorry to tell you all this, but the Halo hasn’t shown any signs of power since Ava has been in our care.”

Jillian wiped away the single tear that had managed to fall down her face before continuing.

“It’s no longer an issue of whether or not the Halo will recharge...It’s an issue of whether or not the Halo works **_at all_ ** at this point.”

Mary, who had been sitting quietly up until now, scrunched her eyebrows in confusion.

“But if the Halo was dead...wouldn’t Ava be dead too?” she thought out loud. 

Jillian opened her mouth to speak, but quickly shut it. She knew the answer to Mary’s question, but saying it out loud would surely wreak havoc on the girls in front of her. It wasn’t long before Beatrice put the pieces together though, crying out as the realization hit her like a truck, shattering her heart as if it were made of fine glass.

“Ava would be paralyzed...” she whispered.

Her sisters gasped at the words as they rolled off Beatrice’s tongue. They turned to Jillian, hoping she would correct Beatrice and tell her she was wrong, but all Doctor Salvius could do was offer them a defeated nod of approval.

As reality settled in, Beatrice found herself facing the worst panic attack she’d ever experienced. She wanted to say more, _do more_ , but the only thing she could do now was cry. She slumped over in her chair, burying her face in her hands. Hot tears streamed down her face, stinging her eyes and wetting her lips. Her ribs burned as she began hyperventilating. She heard a chair beside her squeak before an arm was strung over her shoulders, pulling her into an awkward side embrace. 

“I got you Bea...let it all out,” Mary sniffled, her own eyes brimming with tears from the Doctor's revelation. 

Camila and Lilith stared at their sisters with watery eyes, struggling to comprehend the information they had just been dealt. It wasn’t long before they joined the embrace too, wrapping their arms tightly around Mary and Beatrice. 

The whole group shook as each girl began to openly sob, days worth of emotional baggage and turmoil being released with each tear. 

Jillian watched the girls as they held each other, wishing things had played out differently for them and their friend. Carefully she walked up to the group, placing a hand on Lilith’s back. 

“I’ll give you girls some time alone together, and whenever you’re ready to go see your friend I will be more than happy to guide you to her room.”

Beatrice looked up at Jillian through tear filled eyes. “Thank you,” she whispered, before allowing herself to return to the warm embrace of her sisters as Jillian exited the room.

The hug couldn’t even begin to fix the giant hole that now resided in her heart, but she knew this is what she needed. What _they_ needed. 

As more negative thoughts began to fill her head she closed her eyes, further pushing herself into Mary’s body, burying her face into her friend's shoulder. She felt the girls hold on her tighten.

“It’s gonna be alright Bea,” Mary reassured.

“I got you... _we_ got you.”

* * *

When the girls finally released from their embrace 15 minutes later, Mary took it upon herself to go find Doctor Salvius. 

Lilith had returned to her bed, while Beatrice and Camila stayed in their chairs anxiously awaiting Mary’s return. Lilith turned to them, really taking a good look at her friends for the first time that night. 

Camila’s eyes were red and puffy, but despite everything they’ve been through in the last few days she still had that small tight lipped smile on her face. Lilith chuckled slightly at the sight, gaining Beatrice’s attention for a split second. In that small amount of time she allowed her eyes to rake over Beatrice, her gaze stopping at the girls battered knuckles. She raised her eyebrow curiously.

“Beatrice, what happened to your hands?” 

Bea looked down at her knuckles, flexing her hands a few times before sighing. “Some of us have different demons we’re trying to fight off.” 

Before Lilith could respond, the sound of a door opening caught their attention. Mary poked her head into the room before opening the door all the way, revealing Jillian who stood by her side.

“Alright girl’s, who’s ready to go see Ava?”

Camila and Lilith stood quickly, eagerly making their way over to the door. Meanwhile, Beatrice stayed sat in her chair. She felt her breath quicken, further fueling the dull ache in her ribs. 

_‘Don’t panic,’_ she told herself. _‘Just go see Ava.’_

With that, she slowly got to her feet and made her way over to her sisters. Camila offered her a hand which she gladly took, and without a second thought they were on their way down the hall toward Ava’s room.

After passing another small office area and turning right down another hall, Jillian stopped them all outside a room which had the name “Ava” written on the door in bright pink dry erase marker. Mary eyed it for a second before directing her attention to Jillian.

“I thought pink was fitting for her personality,” she quickly explained, earning a smile from the girls.

“Is that why Lilith’s name was written in black?” Mary joked.

Lilith quickly shot her fist out, punching her friend in the arm. 

“Not funny.”

“Oh come on Lil, it was a little funny.”

Lilith just smiled softly and shook her head before Jillian slowly opened the door. After taking a quick look in, she stepped to the side allowing the girls to enter.

One by one they all made their way into the room, taking in the sad sight in front of them. There, laying on a bed in the middle of the stark white room, was Ava. Beatrice noted that the Halo Bearer had to have been connected to at least 5 different machines, each conducting their own symphony of beeps and soft whirring noises. 

Camila let go of Beatrice’s hand, urging the girl to step forward towards Ava’s bedside, but Beatrice was stuck in her tracks. Upon noticing this, Camila turned to the other sisters who stood behind them. 

“Girl’s, why don’t we give Beatrice a moment alone with Ava,” she said, raising her eyebrows at the two. 

Before Beatrice could react, she found herself watching as her friends and Jillian made their way into the hall, closing the door behind them with a soft thud. 

“Of course,” she sighed softly before turning around, letting her gaze fall on Ava.

Cautiously she began walking towards the bed, each step feeling as though she was walking through molasses. Time seemed to stop as she reached the girl’s side, slowly raking her eyes down Ava’s sleeping face, taking in all of her delicate features. She reached her hand out, carefully tracing Ava’s jawline with her thumb.

“I’m so sorry this happened to you Ava,” she whispered, bending down to place a featherlight kiss on the Halo Bearers forehead. She let her lips linger there for a second before pulling back slightly. Her eyes flickered down to Ava’s lips, as her thumb continued to brush across Ava’s jaw. She let out a dejected sigh before pulling back all the way.

“One day…”

Looking around, Beatrice located a chair and pulled it up to Ava’s bedside. After taking her seat, she found herself searching for Ava’s hand which lay under the light blanket she had covering her body. Careful not to disturb the sleeping girl, she slowly interlaced their fingers. She felt her heart swell at the touch, happy to once again be in contact with her favorite person. 

Beatrice sat like this for a while, holding Ava’s hand, content with the little bubble she had made for just for them. It wasn’t until she heard the door opening behind her that she tore her gaze from Ava’s sleeping form. 

“Hey, just thought I’d check on y’all. Mind if I come in?” Mary asked quietly. 

Beatrice nodded her head towards the other chair, signaling for Mary to take a seat. “Go ahead.”

The girl walked towards the chair, carefully pulling it over and taking a seat beside Beatrice. It wasn’t long before she took notice of the girls hands which were still intertwined with Ava’s.

“It’s nice to see you like this.”

Beatrice turned to her, staring at her questionably.

“Like what?” she asked.

Mary chuckled slightly before pointing at the girls hands, “Like that, finally allowing yourself to be all touchy feely with people. I bet Ava is loving it too, wherever she is right now.”

Beatrice smiled softly before turning her attention back to Ava. “I’ve simply been putting your advice into practice. Allowing myself to...feel things, once again.” 

Mary nodded her head, “Well I’m proud of you Bea. I know it’s hard, especially for you, to be here and see Ava like this, but just remember that we all have your back. And if you need a shoulder to cry on, or just need someone to listen...we’re all here for you.”

Beatrice felt the tears begin to well up in her eyes. “You’ve got to stop getting sappy on me Mary, I don’t know how much longer I can take it,” she chuckled, wiping her eyes lightly with the hand she didn’t have interlaced with Ava’s. 

“Alright, Alright, I’ll quit it. I’m just really happy for you is all.” Mary reached out, placing her hand on Beatrice’s shoulder before standing up. “I’ll give you a few more minutes alone with her before I bring the other girl’s in, okay?”

Beatrice nodded her head, sending one last smile Mary’s way. As soon as Mary exited the room, her attention was turned back to Ava once more. 

She swiftly brought the girl's hand to her lips before placing a gentle kiss on the warm skin, her lips tingling at the new sensation. Her eyes looked up to meet Ava’s which still lay shut, blind to the world around her. She sighed. 

“I don’t know if you can hear me, but if you can then I need you to know something.” 

Beatrice took a deep breath, her heart racing in her chest as the words she had always been scared to speak played over and over in her head.

“I love you, Ava Silva...with everything I am. And I hope when you wake up, you’ll feel the same about me too.

With one last kiss, she gently placed Ava’s hand back down on the bed, unlacing their fingers as she heard her sisters opening the door. 

The girl’s looked at her expectantly before Beatrice motioned that it was okay for them to come in. Camila skipped into the room, happily making her way over to Beatrice and placing arms around the girl’s shoulders.

“I see my idea to give you a little alone time with her worked well,” she said, referring to the small smile and blush that made its way onto Beatrice’s face.

Beatrice shook her head at the girl before sighing happily.

“Normally I would have gutted you for pulling a stunt like that...but I really can’t thank you enough for making it happen,” she replied softly. 

Camila placed a small kiss on Beatrice’s head, content with the girl's threatening but loving response. With that she looked around the room, watching as Lilith and Mary took their seats and pointed their gaze towards Ava. Camila released her hold on Beatrice’s shoulders before sinking into the seat right beside her, getting comfy as she knew they’d most likely be in here all night. With a sad smile, she finally turned her own attention towards Ava.

“Well, I guess the only thing left to do now is wait.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soft Bea is my favorite Bea. See you lovelies in the next chapter!


	7. Almost there

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ava awakens, but not in the way everyone hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to get this chapter out earlier, but life got in the way. My apologies! Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

Ava awoke with a gasp, the cold air burning her lungs as it infiltrated her body. Her eyes flew open, but she closed them quickly as an unfamiliar light burned itself into her corneas.

“Where the fuck am I,” she groaned. Her voice was hoarse, but loud enough to echo back off the walls that surrounded her. 

“And why am I on the fucking floor?” she noted as she ran her hands over what she could only assume was stone and dust. She cracked her eyes open, slowly this time, allowing them to adjust to the blue light which surrounded her before propping herself up with her forearm. She eyed the space questionably. 

“And why am I in _this_ room?” 

“You know for a dead girl you sure ask a lot of questions,” an amused voice called out from behind her. 

Ava turned quickly, startled by the mystery person. Her nerves calmed however when she recognized the woman's face.

“Sister Shannon?” she called out. The taller girl nodded in response, a small smirk toying on the edge of her lips.

“That would be me.” Shannon replied before walking forward, offering Ava a hand. Ava looked at the woman hesitantly before finally allowing Shannon to pull her up off the ground. She muttered a quiet “thank you” to the previous Warrior Nun as she steadied herself on her feet. Cautiously, Ava took a few steps forward and stretched out her limbs.

_‘Well at least these things still work’_ Ava thought to herself. A small smile planted itself on her face as she moved each one of her fingers, _‘definitely need these babies’_. Shannon let out a soft chuckle from behind her, causing her to stop her movements. _‘Did I say that out loud?’_

“No, but you can’t exactly hide your thoughts if I’m inside your head.” Shannon laughed. 

Ava rotated in her spot, staring at Shannon in amazement. “Yo, that’s fucking cool!” she exclaimed excitedly. 

“Language,” Shannon warned, rolling her eyes at the girl's amusement.

“Seriously? Even when we’re inside my head I don’t get to talk like a normal teenager. What kinda Bull is this?” Ava huffed in annoyance. She watched as Shannon shook with silent laughter.

“You know, you remind me quite a bit of Mary in her younger years.” Shannon chuckled before averting her gaze to the floor. “It’s refreshing,” she whispered.

Ava paused, taking this brief opportunity to look Shannon over. She had always suspected that Shannon and Mary had something special going on between them, but the look in Shannon’s eyes right now confirmed any suspicions she previously had about their relationship. 

“You really loved her, huh?” Ava asked, slowly taking a few steps forward. 

Shannon nodded her head as she wiped away a single tear that had managed to spill. “Mary was the love of my life,” she replied gently. “I loved her more than I thought was humanly possible.”

Ava’s smile grew larger as she thought about Mary and Shannon together as a couple. “I wish I could have been there to see it.” she remarked before her mind wandered off. 

_‘I wish I could have seen Mary at her happiest.’_

Shannon’s smile faltered a bit at the thought. Ava’s eyes widened as she realized what she just did. “Oh crap! Shannon I’m so sor-” 

“It’s okay Ava, I understand.” Shannon interrupted. The small smile returned to her face as she brought her gaze up to meet Ava’s once more. “It truly was a sight to behold.” she beamed happily. 

Ava simply nodded at the woman's words while taking in a deep breath of relief. She wanted to ask Shannon more things about Mary and their relationship, but she knew she needed to address something Shannon had said earlier, before it was too late. 

“So, quick question before I probably do something stupid that makes you not want to talk to me anymore. You called me a dead girl earlier,” Ava rambled out swiftly. “I’m not actually dead...am I?” she questioned, her voice laced with slight panic. Before Shannon could answer, Ava immediately began patting herself down. 

_‘If I was dead I couldn’t feel this right? How does the whole being dead thing even work?’_ Ava wondered, already having forgotten that Shannon could hear everything she was thinking. The taller girl cast her eyes to the ground, laughing at Ava’s actions and thoughts.

“Calm down Ava, it was just a figure of speech. You’re not dead.” she assured the younger girl, watching as Ava stopped her frantic hand movements and froze in place.

“Oh, cool, yeah I knew that.” Ava said nonchalantly, trying to play off the awkwardness of the situation. “I was just making sure. You can never be too careful these days,” she continued. Her eyes trailed off to venture around the room, taking in the serenity of the space around her. 

“Another quick question, why are we in the Warrior Nun’s secret room?” Ava asked as she walked over to the marble table. “Of all the places you could have brought me to, it had to be the one place where I can’t even sit comfortably,” she joked as she plopped herself down on the marble, grimacing slightly when her tailbone met the hard surface with a slight thud. 

Shannon shook her head at the younger girl's antics. “You really don’t understand how this whole ‘meeting’ thing works, do you?” she asked lightly. 

Ava immediately shot her a look of confusion. “What do you mean?”

Shannon’s eyes widened, her mouth dropping open in awe. “Did the sisters really not tell you how this all works? Even after I talked to you the last time?”

Ava shook her head at the woman, “Not really, I kinda just ran off and confused Mary and Beatrice by melting divinium with my bare hands while saying we needed to burn Adriel's bones, so…” 

Shannon rolled her eyes in annoyance, thinking back to their first meeting. “Well, I guess now is as good a time as any to fill you in,” she remarked as she made her way towards the marble table. Swiftly, she jumped up onto the slab, placing herself directly next to Ava before grimacing at the feeling of the hard surface beneath them.

“Wow, you really weren’t lying when you said this was uncomfortable.” Shannon complained, turning slightly to face Ava. 

“Hey, just because I spent over half my life not being able to feel anything below my shoulders doesn’t mean I can’t tell the difference between what’s comfy and what isn’t.” Ava defended jokingly while turning her body so she could face Shannon as well. 

The room grew quiet for a few seconds before Ava spoke again. “Soooo, you said you were gonna fill me in on all this.” Ava said, motioning between them with her hand. “Where should we start?”

Shannon laughed a bit, trying to ease the tension she felt starting to gather in the room. 

“There comes a time in every Warrior Nun’s reign that she meets the ones who came before her,” Shannon began. She stopped, however, when she heard Ava let out a small huff. 

“Yes, yes, I know this part already. You gave me this speech back at Arqtech when I was taking my post 20 foot phase victory nap.” Ava rushed out. Shannon brought her hand up, silencing Ava quickly.

“That doesn’t count. My guidance was being swayed by Adriel and his little minion back then,” she replied. Anger began coursing through her veins as she thought about the two men. Ava stared at Shannon in shock.

“But how could Father Vincen-”

“Don’t,” Shannon warned with a quick snap. Ava shut her mouth, knowing better than to mention the man's name in front of the girl he essentially murdered. Without a second thought, Shannon went back to her explanation.

“As I was saying, there comes a time when you get to meet us. _All of us_. Each of us come to you for different reasons, most often because you are dealing with a difficult task of which we can offer knowledge towards.”

Ava listened attentively, her mind slowly wrapping around the newfound information. “Is that why you showed up last time, because you knew something about the mission that I didn’t?” she questioned.

“Precisely.” Shannon replied. “I was trying to warn you about Vincent and what his true intentions were, but Adriel must have sensed my presence in the vision. Before I knew it I was no longer in control. The words that were coming out of my mouth weren’t my own, and my spirit felt... _tainted_.” 

Shannon paused, watching as Ava’s face turned from one of concern to one of confusion. With a sigh, she continued on. 

“I tried my hardest to fight him off, but it wasn’t working. In the end I just pulled myself from the vision so he would get pulled out with me,” she finished. 

Ava opened her mouth to say something but quickly shut it. She knew what she wanted to ask, she just didn’t know _how_ to. After a few seconds, she finally came up with the right words.

“So when you were telling me about the Halo being a burden, and how you felt alone...it was all him?” Ava asked quietly. Shannon nodded her head swiftly.

“Correct. Adriel believed that if he could make you see the Halo in a negative light you’d be more willing to give it back to him when the time came for you two to meet.”

Ava struggled as she tried to process the information. “But how did he know I would try and find the bones? And how was he able to talk _through_ you?” she questioned frantically. Her mind raced as hundreds of questions filled her thoughts. Shannon wanted to reply, but the audible gasp that erupted from Ava stopped her from doing so. All of a sudden Ava launched herself off of the marble slab and walked far away from Shannon before turning around to eye the girl cautiously. 

“And how can I be sure he isn’t talking through you right now?” Ava finished, her voice laced with panic. 

Carefully, Shannon slid off the table, putting her hands up in a sign of surrender. “Trust me Ava, it’s all me this time. He isn’t able to control me anymore, at least not for now.” she said calmly, hoping Ava would believe her.

Ava stood her ground, not content with the woman's answer. 

“Okay, then prove it. Prove to me that Adriel isn’t trying to control you right now.” She half yelled, her voice cracking at the last words. 

Shannon sighed before muttering the words, “you asked for it” as she walked up to the girl. She walked around Ava, running a finger down the Halo Bearers spine, waiting to see if the Halo would ignite. Ava tensed at the sudden touch, but she stayed frozen in place.

“Tell me Ava, what do you feel right now.”

Ava stayed silent, thinking the words over in her head before replying. “I feel...empty.”

“Elaborate.” Shannon ordered.

Ava shook her head, “I-I don’t know I just feel like something’s different. Like a piece of me is missing.” she continued.

Shannon eyed the girl slowly. “And what exactly do you think that piece is, Ava?”

Ava felt her heart sink as realization set in. “ _The Halo…_ ” she whispered out. Shannon nodded in agreement.

“Exactly, the Halo.”

“I-I don’t understand, why can't I feel it?!” Ava panicked. She was trying her best to stay calm, but she knew what would happen to her if the Halo was gone, and that was something she never wanted to go back to.

"It’s okay Ava, you just drained it. Believe me, it’s still there. It’s just going to take some time for it to charge again. In the meantime, however, it means Adriel can no longer interrupt us. Understand?”

Ava calmed down slightly, still confused beyond belief. “But if the Halo is drained, how are you even here?” she wondered aloud. Shannon placed her palm flat on the spot where the Halo resided inside Ava.

“The Halo never bonded with Adriel the way it did with us Warrior Nun’s. He may be able to connect to it when it’s charged, but we are fortunate enough to always stay connected to Halo, whether that be in life or in death.” she answered.

Shannon walked back around to Ava’s front, noting the puzzled look on the girls face. Sighing, she quickly tried to think of an easier way to explain it. 

“Think of it like a scrapbook. You lay out a story of memories on one page and eventually you will move on to the next so the story can continue, but just because you moved on doesn’t mean those memories are left behind, they just get buried in the pages for you or someone else to discover and reminisce on later. That’s how it is with the Halo, but instead of cute pictures and paragraphs, you get each of us. I am simply one page in a book of hundreds that you have yet to discover. Do you understand, Ava?” Shannon finished.

The Halo bearer stood silently for a moment, working through the analogy as best as she could. With a shaky breath she nodded her head. “Yeah, I-I think I get it.”

Shannon smiled softly before raising her hand and placing it on Ava’s shoulder. 

“Good,” she said. “Now before I tell you what it is I was sent here for, are there any other questions you have for me?” 

Ava was about to say no, but something about Shannon's explanation still had her confused. 

“Wait, how was Adriel able to connect to the Halo in the first place? And the whole talking thing, how did he do that?” She asked. Shannon smiled.

“Good questions kid. Not that easy to explain, but I will try my best.” She began while she slowly guided Ava back to the table. “You might want to take a seat for this one.”

Ava quickly sat herself down on the marble once more while Shannon stayed standing. She collected her thoughts for a moment before finally speaking. 

“As much as I hate to say it, the Halo truly did belong to Adriel at one point. I don’t know for sure what he did to deserve it, but I do know he did something bad enough to have it taken away. That is why he was running from the Tarask, because they were the ones sent to retrieve the Halo. Adriel didn’t want to give up his powers, so he did the only thing he could do at the time and placed the Halo in Areala. He figured he could use her as a host for the Halo until he had a chance to come up with a plan to get away from earth, but the chance never came. Areala knew Adriel wasn’t an angel, and she couldn’t exactly figure out if he was the devil so she did the only thing she could and enlisted the help of the Catholic church to bury Adriel away. I’m still not clear on how they got him into that tomb, but I know for sure that they didn’t expect him to live as long as he did.” Shannon explained. “That’s why he can still connect to the Halo. Just because we carry it doesn’t mean he parted from it completely.” she finished.

“So the talking thing, is that all he can do?” Ava questioned. She didn’t want to interrupt but it was too hard not to. 

“Kind of,” Shannon replied. “He knows when the Halo gets transferred, and he can sense the Halo when it’s close. Personally, I didn’t know about the talking thing either until he made his way into my spirit.” she announced. 

Ava stared in confusion, “Wait a second, you had the Warrior Nun visions too when you were the bearer right?” 

Shannon nodded her head at the girl, watching as the gears turned in Ava’s head. 

“Is it possible he did it before? Like, talking through previous Warrior Nuns so he could be released?” Ava asked. Shannon thought it over for a second before replying. 

“Not necessarily. It’s possible of course, I just don’t think he ever tried because back then he didn’t have Vincent.” she stated. “Vincent started acting different when I received the Halo, and by the time I figured out what was going on...I was dead.” 

Tears gathered in Shannon's eyes as she finished the sentence. She managed to keep them at bay, clearing her throat before speaking again. 

“But enough of that. At least I can help you right now while the Halo is drained.” she exclaimed before taking a step closer to Ava. “I hope my answers were to your satisfaction, but there is something important I have to tell you before we part ways.” she said sternly. 

Ava eyed the woman nervously. “Go for it.”

Shannon cast her glance to the ground, taking a deep breath in before bringing her gaze back up to meet Ava’s.

“Ava, this war is only beginning. Adriel will stop at nothing to get that Halo back, and you have to understand there is no guarantee everyone will make it out of this alive.” she warned. “With that being said, you have a decision to make when you wake up.”

Shannon turned away from the girl, drawing in one final breath before letting the next sentence fall from her lips. 

“Are you going to stay with your sisters and fight till the end...or do they need to find a new Halo Bearer?”

The words hung in the air as Ava stared at Shannon in disbelief. 

_‘But I’ll die without the Halo’_

Before either girl could speak the room around them started to shake violently, sending dust and debris flying to the ground. Ava braced herself against the marble table, shielding her eyes as a bright light flooded into the room. 

“Shannon what’s happening?!” Ava shrieked. She fought to keep her eyes open, hoping to catch one last glimpse of Shannon before it was too late. All of a sudden the distant sound of voices started filling the space. The light continued glowing brighter and brighter until Ava couldn't stand it anymore. 

Shannon turned back to the Halo bearer, sending her one last smile before exiting the vision. 

_“Looks like you have a choice to make.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHO'S READY FOR AVA TO WAKE UP?!? NOT ME BECAUSE I GOTTA WRITE THAT ISH NOW. I'LL SEE YOU LOVELIES IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!


	8. Hold me like you'll never let me go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ava nearly gives Beatrice a heart attack, but Beatrice still loves her anyways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HERE YOU GO, YOU WILD ANIMALS.

Beatrice woke with a start. Her eyes shot open and her chest heaved as she slowly came back into consciousness. Quickly, the girl pushed herself up onto her forearm, scanning the room in a panic. 

She looked around frantically, only stopping when her eyes fell upon Ava, who lay asleep in the bed directly across from her. With a loud sigh of relief, Beatrice fell back down into the cot, bringing her hands up to wipe away the tears she didn’t even realize she was shedding. 

“It was just a dream...Ava’s still here,” she told herself over and over again until her heart rate began to even out. 

“Ava’s still here.”

It wasn’t unusual for Beatrice to have nightmares. Matter of fact, she spent most of her first year with the OCS running on fumes due to the nasty configurations of her mind keeping her awake at night. But this time was different. 

This time it hurt. 

_Everything felt so real; the way Adriel broke her wrist, forcing her to drop the last divinium blade she had to the floor. The pain that shot through her as he plunged his own blade deep into her stomach, twisting it to ensure she would bleed out. The way she crumpled and fell to the floor…_

_Beatrice could handle the pain._

_Pain is what made her a sister warrior._

_Pain is what made her human._

_What she couldn’t handle, however, was the way her heart stopped as Adriel strode over to an unsuspecting Ava, raising the cruciform sword high above his head into the air. Beatrice tried to scream, but the only thing that came out of her mouth was a spattering of blood across the concrete floor._

_Helplessly she watched as Adriel brought the sword down on the girl with a mighty swing, tearing through Ava’s muscle and flesh like a hot knife through butter. Ava screamed out in pain; the Halo glowing brightly behind her._

_Suddenly, Beatrice’s vision began to fade, blurring more and more with every strangled breath she took. Before she could blackout, she caught one last glance of Ava’s eyes which bore into her own with an intensity like she’d never seen before._

_They stayed like that, locked in a penetrating gaze for what felt like eternity until Adriel pulled the sword out from the girl, sending her body crumbling to the ground. Ava fell to her knees, never once breaking their eye contact, as her body connected to the floor with a loud ‘crack.’_

_As Beatrice’s vision faded to black, Ava opened her mouth to speak, blood trickling down her chin onto the concrete beneath her as she did so._

_With the cut of a thousand knives, Ava’s taunting voice carried through the air, echoing in Beatrice’s ears as she took her last breath._

_“So much for trusting your team, huh?”_

Beatrice shuddered as she recounted the terrible dream. She turned and dug her face into her pillow, desperately trying to get the bloodied image of Ava out of her head. 

_‘Please just go...please just go,’_ Beatrice repeated in her mind. 

She laid like that for a few minutes, shaking and sobbing into the pillow, silently begging for the nightmare to be forgotten. When pleading didn’t work, Beatrice slowly brought her tear stained face out from the pillow, rubbing at her eyes and nose before turning to lay on her back.

With a quick look at the ceiling, Beatrice sighed; she knew what she had to do.

With a shaky breath in and out, Beatrice slowly brought herself into a sitting position, criss crossing her legs over one another as to remain steady. She brought her palms together gingerly, still being cautious with her slowly healing knuckles; once she had relaxed enough and steadied her mind, she began to pray. 

Prayer used to come easy to Beatrice. Her talks with God had always been fluid, like water flowing through a babbling brook after a summer rain. Sure, there were obstacles and issues for her to overcome during their silent conversations, but prayer always led her right where she needed to be. Same as how the water flowing down the rocks of the babbling brook always ended up in the stream; right where it was intended. 

But lately, Beatrice felt stuck. It was as if the summer sun came to close for comfort, evaporating the once flowing water; leaving nothing more than a trickle in its place. The prayers that once fell from her tongue with such poise and passion had now turned into nothing more than stutters and strangled conversation. 

It frustrated Beatrice to no end, but still; even with her mind blocked and emotions out of control, she tried to pray. 

The words didn’t come to her straight away. Instead they came in random chunks, begging her to place them into logical sentences which she could relay to the man above who seemed to have all the answers. It took a minute for her to straighten them all out, but eventually the words fell into place.

With one last nervous glance at Ava, Beatrice closed her eyes and recited the silent prayer in her head. 

_‘Lord, forgive my ever wandering mind. I wish nothing more than to speak with you coherently, but it seems as though my brain has betrayed me. The thoughts that once flowed through my mind so poetically have become jumbled, stacking atop one another like the building blocks I once played with in my childhood. My head has been in a fog, and my heart begs for the mist to clear.’_

Beatrice inhaled deeply, trying her hardest to focus on the words.

_‘The darkest parts of my mind keep surfacing, pulling me into helpless situations that I can not bear to go through any longer...Not after everything we’ve been through already.’_

Beatrice thought back to the Vatican and their exhausting battle. The image of Ava, bloodied and limp in her arms, flooded her brain.

_'I do not understand why you have placed us in this situation, but I know it is not my duty to understand you; for my duty is to live and learn through these trying times. The living part is easy...I just pray that the lesson I learn doesn’t leave me with a broken heart.’_

As Ava’s image faded from her mind, a single tear made its way down her cheek. Beatrice parted her lips, whispering a gentle “Amen” out into the air. 

Even with her prayer finished, Beatrice continued to sit there quietly, taking advantage of the peaceful early morning silence. 

Not even five minutes had passed by, however, when that silence was disrupted by three consecutive knocks on the recovery room door.

“Come on Bea, you’re gonna be late for breakfast!” Mary called out eagerly.

Beatrice jumped at the noise, startled by the woman’s less than gentle wake up call. Before she could even open her mouth to respond, the faint sound of boots clicking against tile echoed from behind the door, signaling to her that Mary had already begun walking away. 

With a less than amused eye roll; Beatrice uncrossed her legs, draping them gingerly over the side of the small cot. She took a moment to stretch out her aching limbs; wincing slightly as pain shot down her spine. 

“Stupid cot…” she murmured, placing a hand on her stiff lower back. 

Beatrice would have much rather preferred sleeping on an actual bed, but the thought of Ava waking up in the middle of the night, alone and possibly paralyzed, prevented her from taking Jillian's offer for a room at the end of the hall. Instead, she opted for the small one person cot, which she placed directly across from the foot of Ava’s bed so she could keep watch of the girl at all times; just in case. 

Carefully, Beatrice stood up, pushing herself off the cot with the hand she wasn’t using to cradle her aching back. She stole a glance at the clock which hung on the wall.

_‘7:45...how wonderful.’_

Slowly, Beatrice padded across the room, making sure to avoid the many wires of Ava’s machines and monitors that lay strewn across the floor. After carefully maneuvering through the mess, she finally made it to her destination; the whiteboard.

Beatrice looked over the board sadly, counting out the days on the makeshift calendar Camila had drawn for them. With a defeated sigh, she allowed her head to fall. 

_‘Seven days’_

Seven days since the Vatican. 

Seven days of recovery. 

Seven days without Ava.

Before more tears could well in her eyes, Beatrice raised her head and placed the tiniest of smiles on her face.

_'Think positively, like Ava would. We’re just one day closer to her waking up.’_

Beatrice laughed slightly as she thought about Ava, and how she’d always try and make her see the brighter side of every situation. At first she found it impractical, but now that she was the one hoping for a happy ending...it made sense. 

The sound of shoes hitting the tile floor outside her room drew Beatrice out of her thoughts.

 _'Shoot, I’m gonna miss breakfast,’_ she thought before turning to walk back across the room towards her cot. 

Beatrice wasn’t one to leave her sisters waiting and she knew how cranky Mary gets on an empty stomach, so with one swift movement she grabbed her habit and made her way towards the attached bathroom. 

Right as she gripped the door handle, a frantic string of beeps and alarms rang through the room. All at once, every machine Ava was connected to started to go off, catching Beatrice’s attention immediately. 

She whipped her head around, eyes widening in panic as she saw Ava’s body beginning to convulse on the bed. Without hesitation, she dropped her habit on the floor and ran over to Ava’s bedside, grabbing the girl's hand as she watched on in horror. 

Before she could even reach over and press the emergency button, Jillian burst into the room, throwing the door open with ease. 

“What’s going on!” Beatrice asked frantically, watching as Doctor Salvius quickly scanned her eyes over the monitors before turning her attention to her tablet. The woman swiped her fingers over the screen hurriedly before responding.

“I don’t know, Ava’s readings were perfectly fine then all of a sudden her neurons began firing at a rapid pace.” she explained, her eyes still locked on the tablet. 

She quickly analyzed Ava’s neurological chart, eyes opening wide in realization.

“It’s just like Lilith’s readings…” she said quietly. “Multiple lines of communication.”

Beatrice looked at Jillian questionably before opening her mouth in surprise. She shot a quick glance at Ava, watching as she continued to shake uncontrollably. 

“She’s having a vision,” Beatrice stated confidently. “She’s communicating with one of the previous warrior nuns.”

Jillian simply accepted the girl's explanation, not daring to question Ava’s abilities as she obviously didn’t know everything the girl was capable of yet. 

“It still doesn’t explain why she’s convulsing,” Jillian rushed out, tearing the blanket off of Ava’s body and throwing it to the side. 

“I need to check the Halo, help me roll her over.”

Beatrice nodded as she bent down and reached for Ava’s shoulder, carefully rolling the girls body into her own, being extra cautious of the girls healing wound while Jillian palmed Ava’s back. The woman's hands roamed the length of the Halo’s scar before she reached back, grabbing hold of one of the many machines, rolling it towards her. 

As Jillian prepared the machine, Beatrice felt Ava’s movements quicken. In a desperate attempt to stop the girl from hurting herself or Doctor Salvius, Beatrice wrapped her right arm around Ava’s shoulder tightly. Her other arm snaked upwards, allowing her to cradle Ava’s head and bring her closer to her chest. 

Gently, Beatrice lowered her face until she was met with Ava’s hair. She pressed a quick kiss to the girls head before bringing her lips down to whisper reassuring words into Ava’s ear.

“I’m right here Ava,” she said, closing her eyes so she could solely focus on nurturing her Halo Bearer.

“I’ve got you.”

Doctor Salvius had just finished calibrating the machine and was getting ready to attach it to the girls back when Beatrice spoke again.

“Everything’s going to be okay, I won’t let anything bad happen to you. Just please, _please_ , come back to me Ava. The team needs you.” she begged, holding the girl tighter than ever before. 

Beatrice peaked her eyes open, catching a glimpse of Doctor Salvius who stood there, holding the piece she would attach to the Halo in her hands, silently asking Beatrice for permission to commence. Beatrice nodded, watching as Jillian acknowledged her approval and moved in close. 

With one last shaky breath, Beatrice turned, whispering lovingly into Ava’s ear. 

“ _I need you, Ava. Please, I need you._ ” 

Suddenly, Ava’s body went limp, causing Jillian to pause her movements. She looked at the girl expectantly before turning to evaluate the multiple machines and monitors which had gone silent.

As Ava fell further into her grasp, Beatrice slowly pulled back, fearing the worst. She held her breath as she allowed her tear filled eyes to scan over Ava’s limp body, suddenly being reminded of how they were in this same position in the van only a week ago.

Her eyes went to Ava’s chest; watching as it rose and fell steadily, signaling that the girl was still breathing. 

Beatrice exhaled in relief before her eyes raked up Ava’s body, stopping for a second to gaze at the girl’s neck. She unwrapped her arm from around Ava’s shoulders, bringing her hand up to feel the strong ‘thump, thump, thump’ of the girl's pulse as it beat against her fingers.

Content with her findings, Beatrice slid her hand up to cradle Ava’s cheek. Her eyes danced over the girl’s face, unhappy to find that Ava still had her eyes closed, her face staying still as a statue.

She bowed her head in disappointment, closing her eyes so she wouldn’t spill any more tears.

_‘Maybe my prayers didn’t work.’_ she thought sadly. 

_‘Maybe she doesn’t want to come back to me.’_

Beatrice was about to pull away, ready to release Ava from her grasp so she could lay the girl back down on the bed, when she felt the softest pressure brush against her hand.

She opened her eyes, puzzled at the new feeling. Slowly, she lifted her head, bringing her gaze back to Ava’s face once more. 

Ever so cautious, she watched as Ava slightly turned her head, brushing her face against Beatrice's soft palm. The younger girl sighed at the touch before her lips turned up in a very soft smile.

Beatrice didn’t dare to move; instead, she watched on carefully as Ava stirred in her arms, slowly becoming aware of her body once again. 

Jillian stared in awe as Beatrice held Ava lovingly in her arms, waiting patiently as the girl took her time to wake up. Knowing better than to disturb the two, she turned her attention to Ava’s back which still lay exposed from earlier when she tried to attach the machine.

Her eyes perked up as she saw the Halo’s warm yellow glow, shining ever so faintly through Ava’s skin. 

_'It still works,’_ she thought happily before turning her attention back to the two girls. She heard Beatrice gasp in surprise.

Somehow, Ava had managed to move her hand, drawing it up the girls side before grasping a handful of her sleep shirt, pulling the two of them closer than Beatrice had ever thought possible.

Beatrice tensed at the feeling, but she couldn't help the smile that grew on her face as she felt Ava snuggle impossibly closer to her chest before relaxing herself once more.

_‘She’s still exhausted,’_ Beatrice thought. _‘She’ll wake up when she’s ready.’_

She tore her eyes from Ava’s face and looked up at Doctor Salvius, worried she would be upset with their more than friendly interaction; but to her surprise Doctor Salvius was smiling, looking at them with adoration.

Jillian gave Beatrice a quick thumbs up before motioning that she was going to step out of the room. Beatrice nodded at the woman, figuring she was probably going to get the rest of the sisters to tell them the news of Ava’s slow but sure awakening. 

Swiftly, Jillian exited the room, closing the door with a soft ‘thud’, leaving the two girls in each other's company. 

Beatrice looked at the door for a second before looking back at Ava, noting that the girl still hadn't let go of her sleep shirt. 

_‘She can’t possibly be comfortable like that,’_ Beatrice thought as she eyed the girl's awkward position on the bed. 

_'Why don’t we fix this.’_

As carefully as she could, Beatrice brought her hand away from Ava’s face and placed it under the girls legs. She quickly lifted Ava, making sure her side wasn’t manipulated at all, and began maneuvering herself onto the bed. 

After successfully lifting her leg and placing at least half her body onto the mattress, Beatrice placed Ava down beside her. No sooner than Beatrice had pulled away, she felt the hand Ava still had attached to her shirt begin to pull her closer, causing her to let out an amused chuckle. 

“Okay, okay, give me a second,” Beatrice laughed before pulling the rest of her body onto the mattress, positioning herself next to Ava. With a quick movement she turned her body towards the Halo Bearers, snaking her arm beneath the girls shoulders so she could roll her towards her chest. 

With a final adjustment of her body Beatrice scooted upwards, allowing Ava to slip her head down, laying it right over her fast beating heart. She felt Ava smile into her chest before the hand that once gripped tightly onto her shirt flattened out, opting to grab at Beatrice’s hip instead.

The action caused Beatrice to shudder, shivering lightly against the sleeping girl she held in her arms. 

Before she could shake the feeling off, she felt Ava begin to stir against her body once more. Beatrice quickly leaned her head down, bringing her gaze to Ava’s face, watching to see what she would do.

The next few seconds were spent watching Ava thrash around lightly, almost as if she was waking up from a bad dream.

After pressing into Beatrice's body a couple of times and dragging her face against the soft fabric of Beatrice’s night shirt, Ava’s eyes slowly began to flutter open. 

* * *

The Warrior Nun blinked softly as her eyes slowly adjusted to the lighting of the recovery room.

_‘Well, this is a lot better than the last place I woke up in,’_ she thought as she slowly felt around with her hands. 

It wasn’t hard for Ava to tell she was pressed against somebody, and by the sweet smell of lavender that infiltrated her nostrils with every breath, she knew exactly who she was laying with. 

Happily, Ava pulled her body flush against the nuns, not caring about the pain that shot through her side as she did so. With a sweet smile, she lifted her head to catch a glimpse of her favorite person.

“Hello Bea,” she whispered. Her voice was rough and scratchy from not talking in so long. 

She watched as Beatrice smiled down at her lovingly, her eyes filling with tears as she marveled at Ava.

“Hello to you too,” Beatrice replied, slowly bringing her hand up to hold Ava’s cheek. Ava smiled and closed her eyes at the touch, sighing happily.

With that, both girls relaxed into one another, relishing in each other's presence for as long as they could.

They didn't need to talk. 

Hell, they didn't even need to think.

All that mattered was that they had each other, and neither one of them was letting the other go this time.

After a few minutes of holding each other, the silence of the room was replaced by Ava’s soft snoring which caused Beatrice to laugh.

“You wake up for five minutes, only to fall asleep once again. How typical.” she joked, pressing a kiss to the girls head. 

With one last smile, Beatrice relaxed her body and allowed herself to close her eyes. 

For the first time since her late night talk with Mary at the church, she felt the fog in her mind start to clear, leaving nothing but blue skies in its place.

With her heart full and her mind finally free, Beatrice felt herself slowly drift off to sleep; Happier than ever to have her Halo Bearer back, safe and sound in her loving arms. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And just like that, Ava's awake!...and asleep again lol. I hope you enjoyed! I really liked writing this chapter and I appreciate all your kudos and comments, they really do keep me going! Well, time to go write another chapter. I'll see you lovelies later!


	9. Trust me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tension runs high as the girls make their way back to Cat's cradle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE, PLEASE READ THIS.
> 
> Okay, so I was not happy with the last update at all so I decided to delete that chapter and replaced it with this one instead. I know, I'm sorry, but the last one I wrote did not have the right vibe and it's been bothering me for the last two weeks. ANYWAYS, forget the way Ava woke up with the girls last time because that no longer is what happened. This chapter is taking place right after chapter 8, respectively, and I'm sorry for any confusion this has caused. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

“Okay, okay. I’m gonna need you to tell me what happened _one_ more time.” Mary stated seriously, earning a round of groans from the girls. “And this time I need details.”

“Seriously Mary?” Beatrice asked, rubbing her temples in annoyance. “We’ve already been over this twice.”

“Yeah I know, but this time I wanna hear it from sleeping beauty over there.” Mary said, looking at Ava through the rearview mirror of the car. “I wanna hear _her_ side.”

“And why do you need to hear it from Ava?” Lilith asked from the passenger seat.

“Because as far as I’m concerned, she’s the one who got us into this mess.” Mary replied harshly, pressing her foot down harder on the gas pedal. 

“Hey! I didn’t do a damn thing!” Ava defended herself, further fueling the tension that hung thick in the car as they all travelled back to Cat’s cradle.

“Well obviously you did something, otherwise we wouldn’t be running away from Adriel again!” Mary argued, throwing her fist into the steering wheel.

“I said it Wasn’t. My. Fault.” Ava growled causing the Halo to glow brightly, casting its light onto the seat behind her. The blaze slowly faded away however as Beatrice placed her hand over the girls back, rubbing small circles over the now heated skin. 

“Ava, you need to calm down.” Beatrice interrupted. “You’re gonna overexert yourself again, it’s not worth it.” She said gently before lowering her voice so only Ava could hear.

_"It’ll tell him where we are.”_

Ava opened her mouth to argue but one look at Beatrice’s face told her otherwise, shutting her up quicker than she ever thought possible. With an annoyed huff she slid down in her seat, folding her arms across one another angrily.

“It’s not fair…” She whispered, catching Mary’s attention immediately.

“Yeah well life isn’t fair, so why don’t you make use of the next hour we have together and tell all of us what the hell happened when you woke up.” Mary droned, taking another look at the girl through the rearview.

Ava rolled her eyes before locking her gaze onto Mary’s. 

“Only if you say please.” She smirked, willing the woman to break their eye contact first.

Beatrice and Camila snickered quietly as they watched Ava rile Mary up. 

_‘Even in the worst situations Ava always finds a way to make things okay again,’_ they both thought. 

Lilith stayed quiet in her seat, waiting to see what the woman would do.

“Are you kidding me-” Mary grumbled in annoyance before breaking their glance, opting to stare at the barren road ahead of them instead. The smallest smile found its way to her lips however as she thought over Ava’s request.

“Fine. _Please_ , Ava, will you tell us all what happened when you woke up?” Mary asked politely, much to her chagrin.

“Why of course Mary, but technically you want to know what happened when I woke up for the second time, so I guess I will start there.” Ava replied smugly, shooting a knowing glance Beatrice’s way as the memory of waking up and falling back asleep in the woman's arms played through her head. 

_“Now it all started like this…”_

* * *

Panic flowed through Ava’s veins as she woke up for the second time that day, taking in the white walls around her with a shiver. Her eyes darted over to the clock on the wall, quickly noting the time as she brought her hand up to lay on Beatrice’s shoulder.

“Bea...Bea!” She shook gently, earning herself a sleepy grumble in response from the woman. Without hesitation she peeled herself away from Beatrice’s warm embrace, placing herself in a seated position before sending a light jab to the woman's torso.

_“Beatrice wake up!”_ She hissed.

The sister warrior woke with a start as Ava’s panic stricken voice filled her ears, drawing her from her slumber with a gasp. Her eyes flitted across the room anxiously before finally landing on Ava who sat perched on the edge of the bed.

“Ava? Ava what’s wrong?” Beatrice asked hurriedly, noting the panicked look that was spread across the girls face. “Ava are you hurt? Do you need me to go get Doctor Salvius?” 

She cast her eyes over the girl's body quickly, not noticing any new signs of injury. Before Ava could even reply to her previous questions however, Beatrice lunged forward, taking the girls face into her hands.

“Ava...are _you_ okay?” She asked sincerely, rubbing her thumb over the girl's cheek like she had done the first time she had awoken. Her eyes searched Ava’s face desperately in hopes of finding an answer.

Tears welled up in Ava’s eyes as she stared deep into Beatrice’s, prompting the woman to pull the Halo Bearer into a warm embrace.

“No, no, I’m not okay.” Ava replied shakily into Beatrice’s chest. “I I just-”

Ava’s voice cut off as a sob racked through her body. Turning her head to the side carefully, her eyes danced across the handful of machines she was hooked up to, listening as they beeped rapidly in time with her heart. 

“I just-”

“Shhhh,” Beatrice interrupted, pulling the girl closer to her chest. “Ava, you’re hyperventilating, you need to calm down.” 

“But I-” 

“Shhhh” Beatrice breathed calmly. “Take a couple deep breaths with me.”

Ava opened her mouth to argue but the sudden feeling of Beatrice’s hand coming up to rest on her back caused her to pause. Before she knew it the woman was rubbing reassuring circles into her skin, right over the spot where the Halo resided. 

“Just focus on my heart beat, okay?” Beatrice smiled, watching as the girl closed her eyes without hesitation. Her smile only grew bigger as she listened to the heart rate monitor slowly return to a normal pattern over the course of the next few minutes.

“There we go, that’s better.” She said, pulling back a little so she could see Ava’s face. 

To say Beatrice was concerned right now would be an understatement, but with Ava’s breathing back under control she felt some of her worries slowly starting to fade away.

“Are you ready to talk now?” She asked quietly, watching as Ava nodded her head slowly.

“Yeah…yeah I think I’m good now.” the girl reassured. She took one last deep breath in before finally bringing her gaze up to meet Beatrice’s.

“Bea...you trust me, right?” Ava’s tone was serious, much different from the carefree one she usually led with.

Beatrice nodded her head eagerly, “Of course I do.”

“Okay” Ava replied. “Well then I’m going to need you to trust me more than you ever have right now.”

Without warning Ava peeled herself away from Beatrice, opting to sit with her hands folded together in her lap instead. Beatrice looked at her questionably, confused with the girls sudden change in demeanor. 

“Ava, you’re scaring me.” She chuckled nervously, watching as the girl’s eyes darted over to the clock on the wall before falling down to look at her hands. 

“Just tell me what’s wrong.”

The Halo Bearer sighed as she brought her full attention back to Beatrice, noting the concerned look the woman wore on her face.

 _'She doesn’t deserve this...none of them do,’_ she thought. _‘Just tell her and get it over with.’_

“Bea, we need to get out of here.” Ava said calmly, trying her best to keep the situation under control. “You need to get Mary, Camila, and Lilith together and we need to leave. It isn’t safe here.”

Beatrice stared at her questionably, furrowing her brow in confusion. “Ava what are you-”

“We need to get in the van and head back to Cat’s cradle, it’s the only way I can keep you all safe.” She interrupted.

Beatrice’s hands shook as she listened to Ava talk, a mountain of worry building up inside her with every word.

“It’s the only way to make sure that **I** stay safe.” Ava finished, watching as a mixture of emotions flashed across Beatrice’s face. 

She knew her choice of words might have upset Beatrice, but it was the only thing she could think of at the moment. After all, all she needed to do was get the severity of the situation across to the woman. 

Hurt was evident on Beatrice’s face as she opened her mouth to speak.

“The only way for you to stay safe?” Beatrice asked, frustration evident in her voice as she thought about everything she had done for the girl over the course of the last week.

“We’ve been here for an entire week trying to keep you from dying, or worse, _losing the Halo_ and you have the audacity to infer that we can’t keep you safe.” She said sternly, gesturing her hand towards Ava’s side. “Ava, you still have two weeks of recovery ahead of you, and you think this place, the place that _fixed_ you, isn’t safe!?”

Ava sighed, watching as Beatrice’s frustration only continued to grow. “Bea I know this sounds crazy-”

“No, Ava, it _is_ crazy!” The woman argued. “I’ve sat here in this room for an entire week, just waiting for you to wake up and the first thing you tell me is that we have to _leave_!? It makes no sense.”

Beatrice pushed herself off the bed, walking over to the other side of the room before closing her eyes in frustration. She could feel her anger bubbling up inside of her, threatening to spill the same way it had done with Mary and Camila right after the Vatican.

 _'No,’_ she told herself, taking a deep breath in before opening her eyes slowly.

 _‘_ _You can have anger towards everyone else, but not her. Not Ava.’_

She clenched her jaw tightly before turning back around to face the Halo Bearer, locking eyes with the girl immediately.

_Just listen to her. Trust her._

“Explain,” Beatrice said as calmly as possible. “Explain to me why Arqtech isn’t safe and why you think it’s a good idea to leave, and I’ll listen.” 

The woman's statement hung in the air as Ava broke their eye contact, struggling to make the right words come out of her mouth. She didn’t want to upset Beatrice anymore than she had already done.

“Well,” Beatrice continued. “Are you going to tell me or are you just going to sit there like-”

“Beatrice, he knows I’m here.” Ava interrupted, finally gaining the courage to talk back to her friend who had been berating her for the last two minutes. 

“Adriel. He knows that I’m here.” She said sternly.

Beatrice stood dumbfounded as Ava’s words rang through her ears, thinking back to the moment one week ago when Adriel had disappeared into thin air after striking Ava with the cruciform sword.

“But back at the Vatican he...you-” 

“I know, I know.” Ava said, working through the words Beatrice struggled to get out. “It’s all hard to take in but you have to trust me, I didn’t kill him. Not yet at least.” She continued, thinking back to her previous conversation with Shannon.

“He’s still out there. Shannon told me everything, and he’s going to come back and-”

Ava’s voice caught in her throat as Shannon’s words echoed in her head.

_There is no guarantee that everyone will make it out of this alive…You have a choice to make when you wake up._

With a deep breath Ava regained her composure, channeling every bit of Shannon’s strength as she continued on.

“Bea he’s going to come back and...and I need to protect you. _All_ of you. Do you understand?” Ava asked, searching Beatrice’s eyes for an answer. 

“I need to be the Warrior Nun you all deserve, and that means we all need to get out of here before Adriel comes barging in with another army of wraiths, okay? We need to go, _now_.”

Beatrice struggled to find her words as Ava stared deeply into her eyes, silently begging the woman to have faith in her. 

“Are you sure?” Beatrice managed to whisper out. Her eyes shot over to the clock on the wall, noting that it hadn’t even been an hour since her and Ava had fallen asleep. 

“Positive.” Ava replied, following Beatrice’s glance over to the clock. 

“He...he sensed the Halo when I woke up.” Ava explained sadly, thinking about the danger she just put them in by falling back asleep. “Fuck, I should have stayed awake.” She groaned, burying her face in her hands. 

_“I should have fucking stayed awake.”_

Regret flooded Beatrice's body as she watched Ava cry into her hands, disappointed with herself and the way she reacted earlier.

 _‘She was just trying to keep us safe and you berated her for it,’_ Beatrice thought, making her way across the room. Her heart started to break as Ava’s sobs grew louder, forcing her to imagine what it could possibly be like to be in the Halo Bearers shoes right now.

_‘Well done Beatrice, well done.’_

With a quick glance towards the door, Beatrice pushed away her thoughts and walked over to Ava’s side, placing her hand on the girl's shoulder gently.

“How long?” She asked, watching as Ava removed her face from her hands in an attempt to meet her gaze. “How long do we have until he gets here?”

Ava sniffled sadly, scanning Beatrice’s face for any signs of anger. “Honestly I don’t know. Shannon said he can sense the Halo when it’s close, so I imagine I can sense him when he’s nearby too if that makes sense.” 

Beatrice nodded understandingly, “And you know for sure that he’s pinpointed our location?”

“Yeah he definitely has.”

“How?” Beatrice wondered. “How do you know?”

Ava took a shaky breath in before looking deep into Beatrice’s eyes. 

“Because he told me,” she whispered, looking down at her hands in disappointment. “He spoke to me through the Halo before I woke up. That’s why I was freaking out so bad.”

Beatrice inhaled sharply, trying to understand Ava’s words as best as she could.

“I...didn’t know he could do that.” She replied.

“Trust me, I didn’t either.” Ava chuckled, trying to lighten the dark mood she had just thrust upon them. “But I definitely do now.”

Ava’s thoughts grew dark as the image of Adriel’s twisted smirk flooded her mind, reminding her of the terrible things he said as the Halo came back to life moments ago. She shook her head quickly in hopes of ridding the thoughts from her brain before turning to stare at Beatrice.

“Bea I know this is a lot to take in right now.” She began, placing her hand over Beatrice’s. “And I know you probably think I’m crazy but I promise you, I wouldn’t suggest that we leave unless I thought it was absolutely necessary. So please, _please_ , help me get the team out of here before it’s too late.” she begged, pouring as much sentiment into her words as humanly possible.

Beatrice watched quietly as tears started to form in Ava’s eyes.

_“Please.”_

The room grew quiet as Beatrice thought over Ava’s words, silently fighting herself over what to do next. Without warning she slipped out from Ava’s grasp and began walking towards the recovery room door, turning to give the girl one last glance as she placed her hand on the handle, turning it slightly.

“I’ll go tell the girls to get in the van.” She announced, watching as Ava’s face turned up in a soft smile. “And when I get back I’ll have Doctor Salvius with me so we can make sure you’re ready for travel, okay?”

The woman's heart raced as Ava nodded at her enthusiastically, causing her to open the door with a smile.

“Alrighty then, I guess we’re heading back to Cat’s cradle.”

* * *

  
  


“Anddddd just like that, here we are.” Ava finished, watching as Mary stole another glance at her through the rearview mirror. The woman shook her head in amusement as Ava finally finished the story.

“Was that to your satisfaction Mary or do I need to tell it again?”

“No!” Beatrice cut in quickly, already embarrassed by Ava’s perfect recounting of their conversation. “No, Ava, you do not need to tell it again. Right Mary?” She said, cutting her eyes at the woman in the driver's seat harshly.

Mary chuckled quietly before responding. “Yeah, yeah, I guess that was okay. I still have some questions for you when we get back to the cradle though.” The woman remarked, earning an eye roll from Ava.

“Seriously?” Ava groaned. “What more can I tell you?”

“A lot more, considering your freaky Adriel wake up call pulled me away from my breakfast.”

“Is that why you were so mad!” Ava huffed in disbelief. “I thought you were all pissed off because you found out I can talk to Shannon, but all this time you’ve been upset because we had to leave in the middle of breakfast!?”

Mary rolled her eyes, “Honestly I’m upset about a lot of things, I was just extra upset because I didn’t have the chance to finish my bacon before Beatrice ran in telling us to pack our stuff because Adriel was on his way.” She explained, throwing a quick glare at Bea. “And by the way! That wasn’t cool, especially when Ava just told us she didn’t know for sure that Adriel was even on his way.”

Beatrice clenched her jaw in annoyance as she stared out the window, remembering how she exaggerated Adriel’s potential arrival in hopes that it would make the girls more willing to leave so Ava wouldn’t have to spend her time convincing them it was necessary.

“I’m sorry Mary,” Beatrice apologized, trying her best to sound empathetic. “I just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. I wasn’t even thinking about the importance of your morning nutrition.” She said seriously, sending a quick smirk over to Ava.

The Halo Bearer threw a hand over her mouth as she registered the sarcastic comment, breathing deeply in an attempt to hold in her laughter for as long as possible. Her attempt fell short however as Camila immediately burst into a full belly laugh, drawing the rest of the car into fits of laughter with her.

“Dang Bea!” Mary called out from the front. “I can’t even be mad at that. That was fucking good!” She exclaimed in surprise. 

“Language!” Ava blurted out ironically, earning another round of laughter from the girls. Her hand flew to her side as she laughed a little too hard however, sending a quick shot of pain flowing through her torso.

“Ow, ow, ow, okay. That’s enough laughter for me.” She said, causing the energy in the car to begin winding down immediately. Beatrice looked at her worriedly before placing a hand on the girl's thigh.

“Are you okay? Did you rip your stitches?” She asked hurriedly. Ava shook her head in amusement at the woman's fussing, bringing her hand to lay atop Beatrice’s.

“I’m fine Bea,” The Halo Bearer assured. “I’m just ready to get back to my bed at the cradle is all.”

“Well say no more,” Mary announced, pulling the van up the winding driveway of Cat’s cradle. “For we have officially made it to our destination.”

With a quick glance at the gate the car started to fill with nervous energy, causing all five of the girls to shiver in anticipation of what lay ahead of them behind the large wooden doors.

“Hey Ava,” Lilith called out, turning to look at the girl curiously. “Why _did_ you want us to come back to the cradle? Especially after we betrayed the church and have no idea whether we are excommunicated or not.” She finished, watching as her sisters all turned to look at the Halo Bearer expectantly. 

Ava stared ahead blankly as she thought over Lilith’s question, silently wondering to herself why she had suggested coming back here as well when she felt everyone’s eyes land on her. 

“Well you see, uhm, I don’t exactly know why.” She exclaimed nervously. “It uhm, just kinda seemed like a good idea? I mean I only know three places in Spain and it’s Arqtech, the orphanage, and this place so I kinda just chose the better of the three when the idea of running away popped into my head.”

Mary groaned angrily as she took in Ava’s words, silently kicking herself for not questioning the girl’s destination sooner. Camila and Lilith just stared at the Halo Bearer in disbelief while Beatrice pressed a hand to her temples. 

“Ava…” Beatrice said calmly. “Please tell me you did not just unconsciously lead us into a trap.”

The woman's words hung in the air as Ava stayed silent, staring at the wooden gate in front of them with a glint of remorse in her eyes. With a deep breath in, she turned and looked Beatrice in the face.

“I guess there’s nothing left to do but find out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there you go! It's a little muddy because I've been going through writers block and it's not exactly where I want it to be, but I think it's a good bridge for the way I want the story to play out. I hope you enjoyed and I will see you lovelies in the next chapter!

**Author's Note:**

> I'd like to continue writing this story, so let me know if you liked it! Don't be afraid to give me constructive criticism as well, god knows I need it.  
> *Cautiously looks around so Beatrice doesn't scold me for using the lords name in vain*


End file.
